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238 047 rzMP_AM_210x214_V2.indd 1 17.04.14 15:52

April/May 2014 • The journal of ships’ engineering systems

“There is a lot of talk about shippers demanding ‘green’ transport, but are they also willing to pay for it?”Patrick Verhoeven, secretary general, of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations

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S:260 mm

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contentsApril/May 2014volume 36 issue 2

regulars 5 COMMENT 7 DIGEST 11 ON THE AGENDA 15 BRIEFING 99 FUELS & LUBES103 BUNKER BULLETIN104 POWERTALK

enginebuilder profile 17 LNGCs support Wärtsilä’s dual fuel engine orders

two-stroke engines 20 EcoCam cuts consumption on MAN B&W MC engines 21 Car carriers join the LNG-fuelled fleet

four-stroke engines 23 Bergen package powers offshore vessel; DF engines for German ferry 24 Quadruple Cummins outfits drive large FSVs

gas carriers 27 Trips and slips in the dash for gas 30 Gas turbines renew challenge for power

yard profile 33 HHI builds its LNG reputation

repair & maintenance 35 First gas-fuelled retrofit to go ahead 36 Oman to boost LNG repair skills; Damen’s Brest yard extends LNGC bookings

environment 39 MHI hails its LNGC’s environmental merits; LNG project awaits environmental report

steam turbines 41 Steam turbines retain niche LNGC market 42 Kawasaki offers steam turbine and diesel options

gas turbines 45 Compact power for warships 46 GE’s LM500 for Korean patrol boats 48 Vericor targets fast naval and passenger craft

cryogenic engineering 50 Finalising the LNG bunkering rulebook 51 US fast-tracks LNG-powered ships

Gas-fuelling extends to PCTCs (credit: UECC)

21

www.mpropulsion.com Marine Propulsion I April/May 2014 I 1

45 Gas turbines hold their place in naval programmes (credit: Rolls-Royce)

41 Steam turbines have a niche in LNG carriers (credit: MHI)

80 Patrick Verhoeven (ECSA): will shippers pay for green shipping? (credit: ECSA)

subscriptionsA subscription costs £299 and comprises six printed issues per year, published bi-monthly, plus complimentary bonus material:• three supplements: Worldwide Turbocharger Guide,Ballast Water Treatment Technology and Future Marine Fuels & Lubes • digital editions of Marine Propulsion& Auxiliary Machinery • industry yearplanner including key industry dates• access to www.mpropulsion.com and itssearchable online archiveSubscribe online: www.rivieramm.com/subscribe

contents

Total average net circulation: 13,000Period: January-December 2013

A member of:

Disclaimer: Although every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this publication is correct, the Author and Publisher accept no liability to any party for any inaccuracies that may occur. Any third party material included with the publication is supplied in good faith and the Publisher accepts no liability in respect of content. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, reprinted or stored in any electronic medium or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Join over 9,200 members in our LinkedIn® Marine Propulsion Networking GroupFor all those working with propulsive technology and other below-deck engineering plant on all types of vessels, including commercial tonnage, yachts and naval ships.www.rivieramm.com/groups

history 57 Victaulic traces its roots back to World War I

CIMAC at Marintec 59 Driving system integration is key to efficiency

generators & switchgear 62 Drive towards better shaft generators 63 Lloyd’s approves medium voltage switchgear 64 Loop system beats short circuits; Shore power connects in minutes 66 Aggreko gains RINA certification; First marine contract for PM specialist

thrusters 68 Azimuth thrusters approach half century; Schottel’s hybrid debut 69 Special service speeds up repairs 70 Wärtsilä overhauls thrusters ranges; pushing through the ice 72 Sensing problems saves cash

waterjets 72 Jets tailor thrust for niche markets 73 Rolls-Royce’s Kamewa serves a broad market 76 Crewboats extend waterjet references

marine propulsion awards 78 Marine Propulsion's readers and staff vote for the publication's first annual awards

NOx & SOx control 80 NOx and SOx control are high in the emissions-control agenda 81 Repeat orders roll in for scrubbers 82 Meeting Tier III; Japan joins the scrubber club 84 IMO compromises on NOx

heat exchangers 87 GEA backs German green initiative; Icebreaker gets new heat exchangers 88 Corrosion forces heat exchanger exchange; Heat exchanger vital for scrubber 90 Understanding cargo heating is urgent; Wärtsilä develops evaporator for LNG fuel

condition & performance monitoring 92 Sensor networks enhance ship performance 93 Data can improve key indicators 94 Vibration monitoring via satellite; infrared sensor checks fuel quality 95 Co-operation will enhance performance monitoring; SDARI updates ‘Dolphin’ concept

Helios conference 96 EU project supports two-stroke LNG programme

next issueShip type: OSVsFeatures: marine engineering in Japan; compressors; automation & control systems; dynamic positioning; steering gear & rudders; oil water separators; ballast water treatment; deck machinery

Front cover: ZF Marine is a worldwide leader for marine propulsion system technology. The product portfolio includes a comprehensive range of transmissions (reversing, non-reversing and hybrid), propellers, steering systems and CANbus-compatible, electronic control systems, azimuth/tunnel thrusters, Pod and sail drives.

ZF Marine Propulsion Systems supplies a complete line of commercial transmissions, thrusters, propellers and control systems. www.zf.com/marine

ZF IS PROPULSION.

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238 047 rzMP_AM_210x214_V2.indd 1 17.04.14 15:52

April/May 2014 • The journal of ships’ engineering systems

“There is a lot of talk about shippers demanding ‘green’ transport, but are they also willing to pay for it?”Patrick Verhoeven, secretary general, of the European Community Shipowners Association

April/May 2014volume 36 issue 2

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www.mpropulsion.com

Paul Gunton

A s this issue goes to press, IMO’s Marine Environment

Protection Committee (MEPC) has just finished its

66th session, during which it addressed an impressive

range of topics – from ship recycling to the impact of

underwater noise on marine life. But most eyes – certainly

among Marine Propulsion readers – were on two topics: ballast

water treatment and emissions.

Ballast water management presented the bigger surprise of

the two. After the IMO Assembly had agreed in November to a

proposal from last May’s MEPC meeting of a revised timetable

that flag states could adopt, it was thought that this would be

enough to persuade more of them to ratify the Ballast Water

Management Convention (BWMC). There was even talk

before the meeting that a number of states – principally in

Asia – were planning to ratify it simultaneously, thus bringing

it up to the gross tonnage target without any single state being

seen as the one that took it across the line.

In the event, no new signatories emerged and the total

tonnage remains at 30.38 per cent of the global fleet – 4.62

per cent short. This is not good news for the environment, as

alien species continue to be carried around the globe, largely

unimpeded. Nor is it good news for BWTS manufacturers.

There can be few industry sectors that offer a choice

of 70 systems and this cannot be viable, even when the

convention is in force and shipowners rush to fit them. Many

manufacturers had hung their hats on the expectation that

the BWMC would come into force in the near future, so the

indecision shown by MEPC 66 may begin a shake-out in the

ballast water treatment sector.

While some were focused on what comes into the bottom of

a ship, others were worried about what comes out of the top.

They, at least, had a little more to cheer about.

Many had expected that last year’s surprise proposal from

Russia to delay introduction of the Tier III NOx levels to 2021

would be confirmed, but it seems that some serious behind-

the-scenes lobbying had gone on in the interim. The outcome

is a complicated compromise, which is explained in detail in

this issue’s feature about SOx and NOx control.

The new timetable that was adopted as an amendment

to Marpol Annex VI does include the 2021 construction

deadline, but only for vessels of less than 500gt, of 24m or over

in length, which have been specifically designed, and are only

used, for recreational purposes: in other words, superyachts –

a decision that will surely be welcomed in a number of dachas.

The compromise appears to have been worked out during

MEPC itself and I share the concern of some representatives at

the meeting that this was a bit hasty. It is often said that IMO

moves too slowly but that does not mean that moving fast is

always the better option. Besides, what is IMO, apart from the

sum of its members? If they believe it moves too slowly, it is in

their hands to speed things up by, for example, ratifying and

bringing into force conventions that clearly benefit the global

marine environment. The BWMC springs to mind.

One region that will be pleased that the 2021-based

timetable has been downgraded is the EU. While not having a

seat at IMO, EU members often coordinate their views in IMO

debates and there was talk ahead of MEPC that a number of

EU members would pull together to vote down the Russian

proposal. In the event, I understand that some key states

would not play ball; they did not have to.

But EU bureaucrats – like their counterparts in the USA

– have a significant role in global shipping policy. One

organisation that recognises this is the European Community

Shipowners Associations (ECSA) which hosted a lunch in the

European Parliament in early April, bringing together industry

leaders such as Niels Smedegaard, CEO of DFDS, David Dingle,

CEO of Carnival UK and Philippe Louis Dreyfus, president

of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, with European Commission

officials, including its vice-president Siim Kallas.

The summary that ECSA has published does not suggest

that either side made much progress. The shipowners

put forward commercial arguments – implementing

the European SECA is an “own goal” by regulators, said

Mr Smedegaard, as its effects will force companies to close

financially struggling shipping routes. Mr Kallas’s response

was mostly environmental, saying that it would be to the

benefit of the EU and shipowners alike to find a global

solution for the reduction of CO2 emissions, although he did

assure his hosts that “we want EU shipping to prosper so that

it can serve a flexible and dynamic European economy.”

And that is the dilemma: the arguments for such things

as ballast water treatment and emissions control are

environmental. They are necessary, but solutions do not come

cheap. The arguments against are commercial: they will cost

the industry millions for no financial gain.

We should take a long-term perspective: it is inevitable that

these measures will come into effect and that there will be a

price to pay – not just by shipping companies, but by society as

those costs are absorbed into the market. Let’s get on with it. MP

Which way is the wind blowing?

comment

Marine Propulsion I April/May 2014 I 5

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essential.

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Marine Propulsion I April/May 2014 I 7www.mpropulsion.com

digest

in brief...• IACS member Korean Register (KR)

has created a mobile app containing

all of IMO’s conventions. It is based on

the class society’s KR-CON database

program which contains the full up-to-

date texts of all IMO conventions, codes,

resolutions and circulars.

• Carnival Corp is likely to have

scrubbers on at least 20 ships by the

end of the year. Trials on Queen Victoria

helped Carnival to obtain waivers from

the US Environmental Protection Agency

and from Transport Canada, to exempt it

from the requirement to use low sulphur

fuel in the North American emissions

control area (ECA) from next year.

• DNV GL has increased its stake

in StormGeo, a global provider of

weather data. It is the second biggest

shareholder after EQT Mid Market,

which has bought majority ownership

from private equity group Reiten & Co

and Norwegian broadcaster TV2. EQT

will enter into a partnership with DNV

GL and StormGeo’s management and

employee shareholders.

• Rolls-Royce has launched a new

Series 1600 MTU-branded genset. It

is based on a six-cylinder Series 1600

inline engine delivering up to 323kW

output and is compliant with IMO Tier II

and EPA Tier 3 regulations.

• Damen Song Cam, a new Vietnamese

shipyard that is a joint venture between

Damen Shipyards Group and local

shipbuilder Song Cam, opened in March.

It is one of the largest in the Damen

group and is Damen’s first formal joint

venture yard in Vietnam.

• Class NK has classed its first US-

flagged ship, the oil/chemical tanker

SLNC Pax, owned by Schuyler Line

Navigation Co.

• French group navigation satellite

specialist Orolia – best known for its

McMurdo brand electronic and safety

equipment – and the Transas Group

are to jointly develop e-maritime

systems that integrate maritime

domain awareness and search and

rescue functionality.

Brittany Ferries goes for gas

The world’s largest gas-fuelled ropax fleet

will emerge following a decision by France’s

Brittany Ferries to commit to gas fuelling for

the long term.

It currently has a newbuilding on order

at STX France that will be one of the

largest LNG-powered ropaxes yet, with a

passenger capacity of 2,475 and space for

800 cars. The ferry operator is converting

three other ships and the rest of its fleet will

be fitted with scrubbers but will eventually

be replaced by LNG-fuelled newbuildings.

The projects are being overseen by

Bureau Veritas (BV). Jean Jacques Juenet,

BV’s manager for passenger ships,

underlined the importance of having assured

bunkering arrangements in place. “With a

clear picture of the economics and safety

issues and certainty about the fuel supply,

Brittany Ferries was able to take the crucial

decision to adapt to new emissions rules by

making a full switch to gas power,” he said.

A risk analysis carried out by BV

together with its consultancy subsidiary

Tecnitas supported Brittany Ferries’ decision

to switch part of its fleet to gas fuel.

Bunkering arrangements played an

important role in the newbuilding’s design.

BV explained that it will utilise Gaztransport

et Technigaz (GTT) membrane tank

technology for the gas containment,

providing greater capacity and thus an

extended period between bunkering

operations. It will be the first ferry

anywhere to use a membrane gas

fuel tank.

In an interview with BV’s VeriStar

News newsletter, Frédéric Pouget,

Britany Ferries’ group maritime, port and

operations director, said that the ship will

have a tank capacity of 1,350m3. “And

we intend that bunkering of LNG will be

no more frequent than it is now for HFO.”

At the time of writing, the ferry company

was working with suppliers to set up an

LNG barge operation that would provide

bunkers to the various ports it serves at

the same or lower price than HFO.

No confirmation was available as to which

gas supplier will secure this contract but

sources mentioned GDF Suez as a possible

supplier. GDF Suez did not respond to a

request to comment on these reports. It has,

however, said that it sees LNG bunkering as

a new market, prompted by the demand that

will emerge from EU environmental directives,

and it is developing a design for an LNG

bunker tanker.

Brittany Ferries’ LNG-fuelled ferry will be bunkered by a dedicated barge operation (credit: Brittany Ferries/STX France)

E-course tackles energy efficiencyGerman shipping company E R Schiffahrt

has rolled out the DNV GL e-learning

course Energy Efficiency on Board across

its entire fleet of 125 container ships, bulk

carriers and offshore vessels. It is the first

company to do so.

The course, which is designed to help

operators to improve the energy efficiency of

their onboard systems, was jointly developed

by DNV GL and E R Schiffahrt as part of a

pilot project. The e-learning course will be

offered via the DNV GL Maritime Academy to the shipowner’s captains and chief engineers

to help them improve energy use through

targeted measures.

These include optimising trim and ballast,

looking for savings offered by propellers and

rudders, and improving route planning. The

course identifies where each measure can be

introduced and implemented and how great the

potential energy savings can be.

Kathrin Stürzekarn, team leader at ›››

essential.

www.marellimotori.com

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MarelliMotori®

Group of Companies

8 I Marine Propulsion I April/May 2014 www.mpropulsion.com

digest

diary

2014

2-6 June

Posidonia, Athens

www.posidonia-events.com

9-12 September

SMM, Hamburg

www.smm-hamburg.com

17-18 September

IMPA, London

www.impalondon.com

14-17 October

SIBCON, Singapore

www.sibconsingapore.com

28-30 October

Seatrade Middle East Maritime, Dubai

www.seatrade-middleeast.com

03-05 December

International Workboat Show,

New Orleans

www.seatrade-middleeast.com

see us at...

››› the DNV GL Maritime Academy in

Germany, said that the course was designed

specifically for E R Schiffahrt’s requirements.

“A team of developers explored the specific

elements of onboard operations, as well as

the opportunities available by changing crew

behaviour and optimising how equipment is

used on board,” she said.

ABB to maintain Van Oord’s turbochargersABB has signed a three-year international

maintenance contract with Dutch dredging

contractor Van Oord to service 140

turbochargers. The expectation is that this will

reduce failure rates and lead to fewer repairs,

resulting in cost savings.

The agreement’s main focus is to ensure

that Van Oord’s fleet is available as much as

possible with minimal downtime and low

CO2 emissions, ABB said in a statement. “The

agreement reflects the new Van Oord strategy,

in which we want to be sustainable and an

economical fleet manager,” said Jaap de Jong,

the operator’s shipmanagement director.

Rolf Bosma, general manager of ABB

Turbocharging for Benelux, said that a number

of services had been combined into a package.

“We tailored the planning for each location and

vessel, so that Van Oord will be able to budget

very precisely,” he said. MP

Turbochargers in Van Oord’s dredgers will be serviced by ABB (credit: Van Oord)

Modern communications and sophisticated

monitoring systems allow a different approach

to onboard maintenance, believes Wärtsilä.

In a webinar in March, it outlined how more,

and better, data could be analysed to provide

better condition-based maintenance regimes

and to improve the information that is

available to ships’ engineers and to Wärtsilä’s

maintenance staff.

It is working on a number of initiatives,

including a ‘remote virtual engineer’ concept.

This would allow a shore-based engineer to

support a ship’s engineer to resolve a problem

in real time with visual and audio support.

Speaking to Marine Propulsion, Guido

Barbazza, director of field services at Wärtsilä,

said that development of the virtual engineer is

at the advanced testing phase. The first priority,

however, is to connect machinery wirelessly on

board to provide the engineer with real-time

reliable data. He described this as a challenge in

an engineroom environment.

• A full article about Wärtsilä’s concepts will be

published in the June/July issue of Marine Propulsion.

Wärtsilä predicts new approach to maintenance

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Marine Prop dbr.indd 1 07/04/2014 10:35

are

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CM

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Ship Survey A4_st.pdf 1 24/02/2014 11:39


on the agenda

Passenger safety to dominate MSC 93 Looking beyond IMO’s recent Marine

Environment Protection Committee meeting

(MEPC 66) and the developments from it to

be progressed further at the committee’s next

session in October, the next big event on

the IMO calendar will be te Maritime Safety

Committee’s 93rd meeting, to be held on

14-23 May.

The agenda item almost guaranteed to

generate most interest will be the subject of

passenger ship safety where the continuing

saga of recommendations from the Costa

Concordia tragedy will continue to play out.

On the subject of passenger ship safety,

the insurance company Allianz Global

Corporate and Speciality makes an ominous

prediction in its Safety and Shipping Review

2014 publication.

In the opening executive summary, Allianz

says: “More than two years after the Costa

Concordia disaster, improving passenger

ship safety continues to be a priority with a

particular focus on services in Asia, where

quality standards can be an issue. 2014 is

likely to see the 100th loss of a passenger

vessel since 2002. It is a sobering reminder

that so many vessels and so many lives

have been lost in such a short period and

although many of the vessels were on

domestic services and not subject to Solas

rules and regulations, the attention of the

marine industry certainly seems to have been

focused in the wrong area for most of the

21st Century.

Other agenda items that are sure to

generate interest are lifeboat servicing,

maintenance and training requirements,

matters relating to dangerous goods and the

bulk code and the further developments in

the drafting and making mandatory the IMO

Polar Code. This last item in particular will

conceivably have ramifications for propulsion

requirements and the already mandatory EEDI.

One person taking a special interest in the

discussions at MSC 93 will be IMO secretary-

general Koji Sekimizu who said as much

when addressing the new Sub-Committee

on Ship Design and Construction on 20

January this year. That meeting marked the

centenary of the adoption of the very first

Solas, which came about as a reaction to the

Titanic disaster.

Commenting on the Titanic and Costa

Concordia incidents, Mr Sekimizu asked:

“We all know the discussions at the MSC

and development over the last two years and

still we have not finalised this very important

issue. In comparison with our great great

grandfathers’ generation, 100 years ago, are

we doing any better in our mission to enhance

the safety of passenger ships?”

Referring to the debate at the coming

Maritime Safety Committee on the issue of

safety of large passenger ships, he said: “If

we, at the MSC, cannot take action, I can tell

you with confidence that nobody on this planet

can take action and therefore the stakes are

high for the discussion at the MSC in May.”

After MSC 93, there will be a session of

the IMO Council in June followed later in

the summer by the initial meetings of three

more of the new sub-committees established

in last year’s restructuring of the IMO. At

the end of June it will be the inaugural

meeting of the new Sub-Committee on

Navigation, Communications and Search

and Rescue (NCSR), followed in July by

the Sub-Committee on Implementation of

IMO Instruments (III) and in September the

Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargo and

Containers (CCC) will meet for the first time.

Koji Sekimizu (IMO): “Are we doing any better in our mission to enhance the safety of passenger ships?” (credit: IMO)

“Governance is critical – our seas are in trouble

for want of governance. But good governance

is difficult to forge – not least in the high seas,

where there is little formal jurisdiction. The

sustainable use of our seas is equally essential

– and intimately linked, of course, to better

governance”. So reads the introduction to The

Economist magazine’s World Ocean Summit

held, in San Francisco in February.

Provocative possibly but not apparently of

great interest to ship operators and engineers

except that Masamichi Morooka, chairman of

the Internaional Chamber of Shipping (ICS) was

among the panel for the opening debate and was

compelled to remind delegates calling for a new

governing body for the oceans to be established

by the UN that, as far as shipping goes, one

already exists in the shape of the IMO.

Morooka said that IMO’s Marpol

Convention on pollution prevention has

contributed significantly to the dramatic

reduction in oil pollution from ships despite

massive growth in maritime trade. “Marpol also

addresses sulphur emissions and the reduction

of CO2 from global shipping, the only global

deal on CO2 emissions of its kind developed

for a whole industrial sector. This will reduce

CO2 from ships by 20 per cent by 2020 with

further reductions going forward,” he told

the conference.

The ICS chairman’s defence of the IMO

was well considered but the organisation he

leads was compelled to issue a statement

saying, “If however – as has been suggested

at the summit – a new body for ocean

governance was eventually established,

alongside the IMO, to deal with non-

shipping issues, such as fishing and ocean

acidification, ICS believes this would be best

delivered without a radical overhaul ›››

Is another ocean governing body needed?

The World Ocean Summit heard that “our seas are in trouble for want of governance” (credit: Blancpain)


MOL Comfort report expected soonA final report on the loss of the MOL Comfort,

the five-year old, 8,110 teu container ship that

broke in half and sank last year, is expected to

be made in August, according to a statement

made in March by the ship’s class society,

Japan’s ClassNK.

It led the Committee on Large Container

Ship Safety set up last August by Japan’s

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport &

Tourism in response to the casualty and which

produced an interim report that was released

last December; with an English version released

in March.

In addition to compiling the results of the

Committee’s investigation, the Interim Report

also proposed future tasks for investigation

and analysis. In order to carry out these tasks,

ClassNK established a new Investigative Panel

on Large Container Ship Safety which is

chaired by Professor Yoichi Sumi of Yokohama

National University, and composed of leading

experts from shipowners, shipbuilders, and

academic institutions.

The first session of the Panel was held on 21

February and the members agreed to carry out

the following course of action:

• Investigate the possibility of casualty

occurrence;

• Conduct onboard measurements of container

ships in operation in order to verify actual hull

structure responses and acting wave loads;

• Consider and examine large container ship

safety.

The panel plans to meet numerous times

over the coming months to evaluate the

investigative and analysis work and expects to

release its findings by the end of August. The

results will also be reported to the Committee

on Large Container Ship Safety.

In a separate development, IACS has

established a new project team to address large

container ship safety, which also began working

in February and is also chaired by ClassNK.

• Read the interim report via www.tinyurl.com/MOLC-rep

on the agenda

››› of UNCLOS with its carefully agreed

balance between the rights of nations.” One

observer commented to Marine Propulsion

after the event that much of the UN’s

current agenda “seems to be determined

by environmentalist organisations, so there

must be a concern that the supposedly

non-shipping matters might include seabed

mining and even deep sea oil and gas

extraction.” If that were to occur, he argued,

“that would impact upon the number and

type of offshore ships that would be needed

and might even lead to the IMO losing the

authority to determine matters currently

covered by Marpol.”

He expressed concern that, while “the

present system at the IMO is not perfect, it

is at least led in the main by the interests of

the shipping industry. Were that situation to

change, the impact on shipping in matters

such as ballast water treatment and exhaust

emissions might become much more

onerous and expensive than it already is.”

MRV is alive and kickingA disagreement between the European

Commission and the European Parliament over

the scope and timing of monitoring, reporting

and verification (MRV) of CO2 emissions from

shipping, could see more ships and NOx brought

into the EU scheme and an earlier start date.

The original proposals from the European

Commission last June proposed that a directive

covering monitoring of CO2 emissions should be

adopted in 2015 and in force from 2018. Under

it, all vessels over 5,000gt would be obliged to

report emissions based on bunker consumption

verified by bunker delivery notes, but the

European Parliament has sought to impose

more stringent conditions including mandatory

monitoring equipment installed on all ships.

In late January, members of the European

Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and

Food Safety (ENVI) committee agreed on a

compromise position that lays the foundation for

a global measure to reduce CO2 emissions from

international shipping. The compromise position

adopted by the European Parliament essentially

enlarges the scope of the initial commission

proposal for an EU law on the matter. According

to the European Parliament, the MRV system

should not only monitor CO2 but also NOx and

the threshold should be lowered from 5,000gt to

400gt. The parliament also wants the adoption

date brought forward to this summer.

A statement by the European Community

Shipowners' Associations (ECSA) issued after

the parliament’s decision said that the EU

might actually be undermining its own efforts

to pave the way for an agreement on CO2 at

the IMO. “We realise that the position taken

by the European Parliament is a basis for

negotiation with the Council of Ministers” said

Patrick Verhoeven , ECSA secretary general.

“We are however concerned about several of

the contents, namely the inclusion of other

emissions and the lowered threshold to 400gt,

which might prove to be an obstacle for a

speedy agreement at IMO level.”

ECSA’s concerns over the inclusion of NOx

stems from the fact that, unlike CO2, NOx

cannot be calculated from fuel consumption

alone and continuous monitoring would require

a capital outlay on expensive equipment.

“EU member states have however given a

clear political signal that any solution to curb

global CO2 emissions must result from an

international agreement at IMO level” added

Mr Verhoeven, referring to a joint submission

to the IMO Marine Environment Protection

Committee, made by the EU member states

and the European Commission, which proposes

the key elements for a system to collect data on

CO2 emissions and energy efficiency of ships.

In March, the International Chamber of

Shipping (ICS) organised a seminar In Ålesund,

Norway for senior officials of maritime

administrations where it explained that it

supports a global system, provided that the

mechanism is simple to administer, is primarily

based on fuel consumption and that the system

itself will not be used for the development of a

full blown market-based measure.

ICS’ director of external relations, Simon

Bennett, said: “ICS believes that the question

of whether IMO should eventually develop a

mandatory system of energy indexing for existing

ships – to which ICS is currently opposed –

should be left open until after a mandatory CO2

emissions reporting system has been established.”

Mr Bennett went on to say that the

successful development of a global system will

require the support of all IMO member states,

including nations such as China. To make

progress and discourage regional regulation he

thought the MEPC should initially focus on how

information about emissions should be collected

before launching into detailed discussions about

efficiency indexing of ships, on which there is

little global consensus. “If they so wish, IMO

member states can always return to the question

of ship indexing once a CO2 monitoring system

has been established,” he said.

Referring to the EU discussions, Mr Bennett

remarked: “It is unfortunate that the debate

has been complicated by the parallel proposal

from the European Commission for a unilateral

regional system of CO2 reporting. MP

Simon Bennett (ICS): “It is unfortunate that the debate has been complicated by the parallel proposal from the European Commission” (credit: ICS)

© 2014 Chevron Marine Products LLC. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of Chevron Intellectual Property LLC.

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What is the aim and scope of ISO 19030?The aim of this standard is to recommend

practical methods for measuring changes in ship

specific hull and propeller performance, to the

industry for use on a voluntary basis.

What is hull and propeller performance and why is it important?Hull and propeller performance refers to the

relationship between the condition of a ship’s

underwater hull and propeller and the power

required to move the ship through water.

Measurements of changes in hull and propeller

performance over time make it possible to

determine the impact of hull and propeller

related maintenance, repair and retrofit activities

on the fuel efficiency of the ship in question.

How did the project start?In a submission to IMO’s Marine Environment

Protection Committee (MEPC) in February 2012,

(MEPC63-4-8), the Norway-based environmental

organisation the Bellona Foundation – as a part of

the Clean Shipping Coalition and in cooperation

with Jotun – called for a transparent and reliable

standard for measuring changes in hull and

propeller performance.

In the submission it was estimated that the

potential for fuel cost and greenhouse gas emission

reductions related to improvements in hull and

propeller performance was between 7 and 10

per cent across the world fleet. This translates

into around 0.3 per cent of all man-made carbon

emissions and US$30 billion in fuel costs.

When will the standard be available?Work on the standard was initiated in June

2013 and the target date for submission of

a Draft International Standard is December

2014. Once a Draft International Standard has

been finalised, continued efforts undertaken

to secure involvement from the industry every

step of the way should pay off, and the June

2016 deadline set by ISO for final approval of

ISO 19030 could be met.

How will it affect me?ISO 19030 will make it possible to accurately

determine the impact of hull and propeller

related maintenance, repair and retrofit activities

on the fuel efficiency of the ship in question.

This can in turn be used to learn from actions

taken in the past and to make better decisions

for tomorrow. The standard will also make it

possible for buyers and suppliers of technologies

and solutions aimed at improving hull and

propeller performance to enter into performance

based contracts based on a contractually

acceptable measurement methodology.

Who is involved?Svend Søyland from the Bellona Foundation has

been elected the convener of the working group

and Geir Axel Oftedahl from Jotun has been

appointed project manager.

There are currently more than 50 experts

and observers, representing shipowners,

shipping associations, newbuild yards, coatings

manufacturers, performance monitoring

companies, academic institutions, class societies

and non-governmental organisations in the ISO

working group tasked with reaching consensus

on a draft standard. Additional industry

stakeholders have and will continue to be

consulted as a part of this process. IMO’s MEPC

is being updated on progress on a regular basis.

The work is being undertaken within ISO’s

Technical Committee (TC) 8, which deals with

ships and marine technology, whose Sub-

Committee (SC) 2 is concerned with marine

environment protection. This project team forms

SC 2’s Working Group 7. Two-thirds of the 14

participating member (P-member) bodies of ISO

TC 8/SC 2 have to approve the draft before it is

submitted as a final Draft International Standard

for consideration by all ISO member bodies.

What about other drivers of ship efficiency?The scope of ISO 19030 is limited to hull

and propeller performance only and does not

cover, for example, engine, fuel quality and

navigation. However, the work that goes into

standardising a method for accurately isolating

hull and propeller from the other drivers of ship

efficiency should make it easier to standardise

similar measurability for those, as well.

How can I get involved in developing the standard?Experts and observers are appointed by the 14

P-member bodies of ISO TC8/SC2. If you are an

expert in a relevant field and want to contribute you

can contact either the convener (svend@bellona.

no) or project manager (geir.axel.oftedahl@jotun.

no) for relevant contact details. MP

The ISO is developing a standard for hull and propeller performance. Geir Axel Oftedahl, business development director for hull performance solutions at Jotun and project manager for the standard’s working group, explains why

Setting a new performance standard

briefing

This propeller upgrade by MAN Diesel & Turbo’s PrimeServ division reduced fuel consumption for this dredger. The ISO standard will define how such changes can be measured (credit: MAN Diesel & Turbo)

www.mpropulsion.com

A pioneer in applying dual-fuel

technology to marine engines, Wärtsilä

continually extends its references in

diverse arenas with a programme embracing

20DF, 34DF and 50DF medium speed designs.

With respective bore sizes of 200mm, 340mm

and 500mm, these engines cover an output

range from 1,000kW to 17.5MW to target a

wide range of shipping and offshore propulsion

and genset market opportunities.

Over 1,000 Wärtsilä DF engines delivered

by October last year had accumulated more

than 7 million operating hours, 50DF models

forming the electric power stations of LNG

carriers accounting for a significant number of

these installations.

Other references include the new P-63 FPSO

vessel entering service offshore Brazil, whose

50DF machinery is the first to exploit gas-fuelled

engines in producing more than 100MWe; the

plant can run on treated well gas or treated

crude as well as on marine diesel oil.

Non-offshore shipping applications of 50DF

machinery include Viking Grace, a 57,000gt/2,800-

passenger Baltic cruiseferry delivered last year

by STX Europe to Viking Line. The twin-screw

propulsion plant of the world’s first LNG-fuelled

passenger vessel is based on a quartet of eight-

cylinder L50DF engines.

A recent contract calls for Wärtsilä to supply

eight 50DF engines for converting Totem Ocean’s

two Orca-class roro cargo ships, Midnight Sun and

North Star, to LNG-fuelled electric propulsion.

The vessels transport around one-third of all

the goods required by the inhabitants of Alaska,

including food, vehicles and construction

material, between Tacoma and Anchorage.

Each vessel will be retrofitted with four V12-

cylinder 50DF-driven gensets capable of running

on either natural gas, marine diesel or heavy

fuel oil. Wärtsilä will additionally supply two

1,100m3 LNG fuel storage tanks and associated

automation and fuel gas handling systems.

Wärtsilä’s DF technology was launched in

the early 1990s for land-based power plant

applications, the first marine 50DF installation

following a decade later. LNG carriers were

a special target, such tonnage exploiting the

capability of the engine to burn cargo boil-off

gas as well as marine diesel and heavy fuel

oils, switching between the fuel modes without

disrupting power generation.

Electric power stations based on 50DF engines

became favoured for LNG carrier propulsion,

breaking the steam turbine’s dominant grip when

the first DF-electric tonnage was contracted in

2002. By the end of 2006 over 200 such engines

were on order or in service with an aggregate

rating of almost 2,000MW for 52 LNG carriers.

The first three of these LNGCs – Provalys, Gaz

de France energY and Gaselys – were delivered to

French owner Gaz de France by Chantiers de

l’Atantique (now STX France) from end-2006

into 2007. Later in 2007 saw the handover of a

fourth 50DF-driven LNGC, BP Shipping’s British

Emerald, from Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Different quadruple-engine/single-screw

configurations were selected for these ships,

depending on their size and operational

requirements. Gaz de France energY, a 75,000m3

MedMax class carrier, is powered by a plant

comprising four L6-cylinder 50DF-driven main

gensets with a total output of 22.8MW.

The 155,000m3 Provalys, Gaselys and British

Emerald all tap an aggregate power rating of

39.9MW; the two French-built vessels, however,

each feature packages based on one L6-cylinder

and three V12-cylinder 50DF genset engines,

while British Emerald deploys two V12- and two

L9-cylinder models.

Similar or variations of these machinery

layouts were specified for subsequent LNGC

projects using 50DF-electric solutions. By mid-

February this year the LNGC reference list

embraced 141 ships/567 engines.

Production of 50DF engines was initially

assigned to Wärtsilä’s facility in Trieste, Italy, but

demand stimulated investment in a dedicated

new factory at Mokpo in South Korea, whose

yards were building most of the new generation

LNG carriers. The 50:50 joint venture Wärtsilä-

Hyundai Engine Company (WHEC) came on

stream in 2008 with the planned annual capacity

to produce 100-120 x 50DF engines.

WHEC remained the main source of 50DF

engine production as LNGC building projects

proliferated in Asia, with Trieste acting as a

buffer supply.

Developed from Wärtsilä’s successful

460mm-bore W46 medium speed diesel engine,

the 50DF has a bore of 500mm and a stroke of

580mm. Running on either natural gas, marine

diesel oil or heavy fuel oil – with seamless

switching facilitated between them – the design

delivers an output of 950/975 kW per cylinder

at 500/514 rpm for 50Hz and 60Hz electricity

generation respectively; offered in six, eight,

and nine in-line and V12, 16 and 18-cylinder

A dominant status in LNG carrier propulsion has been secured by Wärtsilä’s 500mm-bore medium speed dual-fuel engine, whose environmental merits are increasingly appreciated in other sectors

by Doug Woodyard

LNGCs primed 50DF engine sales surge

enginebuilder profile

Provalys pioneered Wärtsilä 50DF-electric power in LNG carriers


variants, the series covers a power range from

5,500kW to 17.55MW.

In gas mode, with fuel supplied at a low

pressure (less than 5 bar at the engine inlet), the

engine operates according to the lean-burn Otto

process. The mixture of air and gas in the cylinder

contains more air than is needed for complete

combustion – typically a 2.2:1 ratio – which lowers

peak temperatures and hence NOx emissions. A

higher compression ratio is also facilitated, raising

engine efficiency and further reducing emissions.

The fuel system is divided into three elements:

for gas, back-up fuel oil and pilot fuel oil.

Gas is admitted into the air inlet channels of

the individual cylinders during the intake stroke

to create a lean, premixed air-gas mixture in the

combustion chambers. Reliable ignition of the

mixture is secured by injecting a small quantity of

diesel oil directly into the combustion chamber as

pilot fuel which ignites by compression ignition

as in a conventional diesel engine.

Micro-pilot ignition injection is exploited,

such that less than 1 per cent of the overall

fuel energy is required as liquid fuel at nominal

load. Pilot fuel oil is delivered via a common

rail system based on an engine-mounted high

pressure pump supplying the fuel to every

injection valve at around 900 bar. The injection

valves are of twin-needle design, with the pilot

fuel needle electronically controlled by the

engine control system.

Electronic control closely regulates the pilot

injection system and air-gas ratio to keep each

cylinder at its correct operating point between

the ‘knock’ and misfiring limits; this, Wärtsilä

explained, is the key factor in achieving reliable

operation in gas mode: automatically tuning the

engine to match varying conditions.

Securing the highest efficiency and lowest

emissions, each cylinder is individually

controlled to ensure operation at the correct air-

fuel ratio, with the correct amount and timing

of pilot fuel injection. Both gas admission and

pilot fuel injection are electronically controlled

and engine functions are controlled by an

advanced automation system allowing optimum

running conditions to be set independently of

the ambient conditions or fuel type.

The global air-fuel ratio is controlled by a

wastegate valve which allows some of the exhaust

gases to bypass the turbine of the turbocharger,

ensuring that the ratio is correct regardless of

changing ambient conditions, such as temperature.

Starting is normally executed in diesel mode,

using both main diesel and pilot fuel. Gas

admission is activated when combustion is

stable in all cylinders.

When running in gas mode, the engine

automatically switches over to diesel fuel

operation if the gas feed is interrupted or

component failure occurs. The switchover takes

less than a second and has no effect on engine

speed and load during the process.

In diesel mode the engine works according

to the normal diesel concept using a jerk pump

fuel injection system. Diesel fuel is injected at

high pressure into the combustion chamber

just before top dead centre. Gas admission is

deactivated but the pilot fuel remains activated

to ensure reliable pilot fuel injection when the

engine is transferred back to gas operation.

Transfer from diesel to gas running is a more

gradual process than gas to diesel mode; the

diesel fuel supply is slowly reduced while the

amount of gas admitted is increased. The effect

on engine speed and load fluctuation during

transfer to gas is reportedly minimal.

Lean combustion enables a high compression

ratio, which in turn increases engine efficiency

and reduces peak temperatures, thereby fostering

lower NOx emissions. The environmental merits

of LNG-fuelled engines are particularly valued

for operations in NOx and SOx emissions-

sensitive regions.

In gas mode, the 50DF engine’s NOx

emissions are said to be at least 85 per cent

below those specified in IMO Tier II regulations,

while carbon dioxide emissions are some 25 per

cent less than those of a conventional marine

engine running on diesel fuel. Furthermore, SOx

and particulate matter emissions are negligible

at almost zero per cent.

• Wärtsilä has now extended its choice of dual-

fuel medium speed engines with the introduction

of a 46DF model, a gas-burning derivative of the

successful 460mm-bore diesel design. MP

enginebuilder profile

Arrangement of the four V12-cylinder 50DF-driven gensets specified to convert Totem Ocean’s Orca-class roro ships to gas burning; Wärtsilä is also supplying the associated LNGPac fuel handling systems

A V18-cylinder version of the 50DF engine, used in electric power stations of LNG carriers

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MA

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005


A retrofit solution for mechanically-

controlled MAN B&W MC low speed

engines with single turbochargers is

now offered by MAN Diesel & Turbo to optimise

low load operation. Fuel savings of 2-5 g/kWh

with short payback times are promised by

MAN EcoCam as well as an increased Pmax

cylinder pressure through adjustable exhaust

valve timing.

“Slow steaming is now an established

industry standard across all segments, including

the tanker and bulker markets,” explains MAN

Diesel & Turbo’s head of retrofit and upgrade,

Christian Ludwig. “We continuously seek to

further refine our technology and improve

efficiency,” he said.

“The MAN EcoCam adjusts the exhaust

valve timing between 10 and 60 per cent load,

giving a 2-5 g/kWh fuel saving with minimal-

to-no interruption to a vessel’s schedule during

installation," said Mr Ludwig.”

MAN EcoCam is based on a flexible cam

profile, termed a virtual cam, which is controlled

hydraulically by adjusting the amount of actuator

oil in the hydraulic pushrod. Thoroughly tested,

the system is initially rolling out on a number of

500mm-bore MAN B&W S50MC-C engines but

will be progressively introduced to the mid- and

large-bore programme.

Low-load tuning has an impact on torsional

vibration and NOx emissions. When a low-load

tuning method is installed on an engine, the

torsional vibration impact and NOx level must be

taken into account to ensure that the engine is

not harmed and that NOx emissions comply with

IMO requirements, the designer explained. MAN

EcoCam customers are supported by a new torsional

vibration calculation and NOx amendment.

Two independent testbed installations and a

shipboard trial have reportedly verified the fuel

consumption reduction effect.

Earlier closure of the exhaust valve yields a

higher compression pressure, thereby delivering

a higher combustion pressure and lower fuel

consumption. Flexible exhaust valve timing has

traditionally only been available on electronically-

controlled engines.

A typical fuel saving in the 2-5 g/kWh range

(depending on the engine load profile) from

the EcoCam can underwrite a system payback

period of as little as 18 months for smaller

engines, such as a six-cylinder S50MC-C model

with 6,000 annual running hours.

• The low load operating capability of MAN B&W

engines is also improved by slide fuel valves, which

are standard on all new engines and retrofittable

to MC engines in service. By mid-2013 some

20,000 valves had been retrofitted to enhance fuel

economy and environmental performance.

A slide fuel valve eliminates the sac volume

associated with conventional valves, lowering fuel

consumption and eliminating dripping from the

valve nozzle; NOx emission reduction potential

is also cited. The reduced sac volume leads to

an improved combustion process, resulting in

fewer deposits throughout the gasways and a

reduction in overall emissions, such as HC, NOx

and particulate matter; additionally, visible smoke

conditions are greatly reduced.

An advantage is also reported for slide fuel

valves in engines running in slow steaming

mode; an improved low load performance has

benefits with respect to soot formation. The

need to run at high rpm to clean exhaust

channels is reduced or eliminated.

Replacing standard fuel valves with slide

valves is straightforward, said MAN Diesel &

Turbo, and can be carried out by ship staff after

instruction or by MAN PrimeServ.

The benefits are summarised as: improved low

load performance; better combustion; reduced

fouling of gasways, exhaust gas boiler and piston

top land; no sac volume/no drips; less visible

smoke formation; and lower emissions of HC,

NOx and PM. MP

two stroke engines

REDUCED FUEL CONSUMPTION AS A FUNCTION OF ENGINE LOAD

EXHAUST VALVE OPENING DIAGRAMS FOR STANDARD CAM AND MAN ECOCAM

EcoCam cuts fuel consumption on MC engines

7,00

6,00

5,00

4,00

3,00

2,00

1,00

0,00

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Delta

Standard Cam

MAN EcoCam

Crank Angle

50 75 200 300250225 275175100 125 150

mm

Lift

Load %

Reduction in consumption(g/kWh)

MAN EcoCam Fuel SavingExample: 6S50MC-C8,1


A low speed dual-fuel propulsion plant

selected for two pure car/truck carriers

will enable the tonnage to complete

14-day round voyages in the Baltic burning LNG

only. The 3,800-car capacity vessels will be built

for United European Car Carriers (UECC) by the

NACKS yard in Nantong, China, a joint venture

between Kawasaki Heavy Industries and the

China Ocean Shipping Group, for delivery in

second-half 2016.

Propulsive power will be provided by an

eight-cylinder MAN B&W S50ME-C8.2-GI two-

stroke engine designed to handle LNG, heavy

fuel oil or marine gas oil. Auxiliary power will

also be supplied by a gas-burning installation

based on three gensets driven by four-stroke

dual-fuel engines. Other technologies and

design elements will be exploited to reduce fuel

consumption and emissions, contributing to an

environment-friendly specification.

“The LNG installation is a pioneering design

and will be one of the largest employed on a

commercial vessel, and the largest yet of its

kind on a PCTC,” reported UECC chief executive

officer Glenn Edvardsen.

Operation in the regional Sulphur Emission

Control Area will be facilitated by the gas-

burning capability. “Opportunities to use heavy

fuel oil are fairly limited as long as we trade

vessels in this area,” Bjorn Svenningensen,

UECC’s head of car transport sales and

marketing, told Marine Propulsion. “We wanted

a dual-fuel system in case the market should

collapse and we need to trade these vessels in

another area. It’s a fallback position.”

These largest PCTCs specifically designed for

transiting the Baltic and other ice-prone areas

– 181m in length and 30m wide – will have

1A Super Finnish/Swedish ice class enabling

year-round operations in the Baltic area. Rolling

capacity on the Lloyd’s Register-classed vessels

will be arranged over 10 decks and optimised

for current and predicted cargo mixes, including

Mafi trailers and high and heavy freight.

• Growing references are being logged by

MAN Diesel & Turbo’s low speed dual-fuel

programme, which now offers GI (gas injection)

versions of all MAN B&W electronically-

controlled ME-type engines up to 980mm-bore.

Gas-fuelled ME-GI propulsion solutions are

available for diverse mainstream newbuildings,

while retrofits of existing ME diesel engines

can also be carried out.

Market debuts were earned at end-2012

with contracts for eight-cylinder 700mm-bore

L70ME-C8.2-GI engines for US-based TOTE’s

3,100 teu container ship newbuildings; and for

twin five-cylinder G70ME-GI engine packages

for Teekay LNG Partners’ 173,400m3 LNG

carrier commitments.

More recent orders called for engines for

other LNG carrier and container ship projects.

The seven-cylinder 900mm-bore S90ME-GI

models booked to power 3,600 teu ships for US

operator Matson are said to be the largest dual-

fuel engines ever ordered in terms of power

output (42.7MW); and twin seven-cylinder

G70ME-GI installations for a pair of 176,300m3

LNGCs ordered by Knutsen OAS are expected

to yield fuel savings of more than 30 tonnes of

gas per day over an equivalent medium speed

DF-electric plant at a normal ship speed of

15-17 knots.

Early 2014 saw eight-cylinder S70ME-

GI8.2 engines specified to propel two 26,500

dwt ConRo ships contracted by Florida-based

Crowley Maritime Corporation from VT Halter

Marine’s Pascagoula yard. MP

Gas-fuelled PCTCs will keep SOx at bay in the Baltic

RT-flex50 power for chemtanker sextetComplete propulsion systems from Wärtsilä for six 38,000 dwt chemical tankers building at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in China for Stolt Tankers BV will be based on 500mm-bore RT-flex50 low speed engines. Equipment deliveries are due to start this summer for the 44,000m3 tankers, the first of which is expected to be completed

in December 2015. Options are held for another pair.

Wärtsilä’s shipsets will also include CP propellers, tunnel gearboxes and associated shaft generators as well as oily water separators. The group highlights the merits of packages sourced from one supplier, citing efficient integration of the various

elements. The combination of a two-stroke engine and a shaft generator, for example, calls for optimum co-ordination between engine controls and propulsion controls.

The risk of expensive construction delays caused by problems from multi-supplier sources is also lowered by a single-source delivery.

Car carriers join the LNG-fuelled fleet

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An integrated design, engineering and equipment package from Rolls-Royce for an innovative offshore vessel project will include six diesel gensets based on the group’s Bergen B32:40 medium speed engine design. With a length of around 169m and a breadth of 28m, the Rolls-Royce UT 777 CD design vessel will be built in Japan by Kawasaki Heavy Industries for Norway’s Island Offshore, with delivery due in 2017.

Operating experience from Island Wellserver, designed by Rolls-Royce

in 2005, will be applied to create a vessel capable of undertaking diverse subsea tasks such as top hole drilling, construction and inspection as well as maintenance and repair work in deep waters; it will also be adaptable for light well intervention. Accommodation for 91 personnel will be provided in the ICE 1B-class vessel.

A 27.9MW diesel-electric power station will embrace four gensets driven by nine-cylinder Bergen B32:40L9ACD engines, each developing 4,190kW at 720 rpm,

and two gensets driven by V12-cylinder B32:40V12ACD engines, each developing 5,587kW at 720 rpm.

Electrical power for propulsion and manoeuvring will be fed to three azimuth thrusters at the stern and a pair of retractable azimuth thrusters at the bow. Rolls-Royce will also supply two Super Silent side thrusters for the vessel, which will have a DP3 dynamic positioning capability. • Island Offshore recently took delivery of Island Dawn, the third offour Rolls-Royce UT 717 CD platform supply vessels ordered from the Norwegian yard Vard Brevik. The 84.45m-long x 17m-wide PSV, with a deadweight of 3,800 tonnes and a deck capacity of 800m2, is also prepared for later duties as a standby/rescue vessel.

Twin-screw propulsion is provided by two nine-cylinder Rolls-Royce Bergen C25:33 L9 medium speed engines, each rated at 2,880kW and arranged to drive a 2.9m-diameter Rolls-Royce CP propeller via a Rolls-Royce 750 AGHC-KP50H reduction gearbox equipped with a 1,920kW power take-off. The Rolls-Royce outfit also includes Kamewa Ulstein tunnel thrusters, mounted in pairs at bow and stern.

Supporting the two 2,400 kVA shaft alternators in supplying electrical power are a pair of gensets, each driven by a 398kW Scania DI 12 high speed engine.

four stroke engines

Bergen-based package powers 28MW offshore vessel

DF engines for another green German ferryGrowing interest in gas-fuelled propulsion in

Europe for coastal and shortsea tonnage is

underlined by German ferry operator Reederei

Cassen Eils’ selection of a Wärtsilä 20DF

propulsion package for a newbuilding from

domestic yard Fr Fassmer. The vessel is due for

service during the first half of 2015.

The latest twin nine-cylinder dual-fuel

medium speed engines, each rated at 1,665kW,

will deliver a 5 per cent higher output than

earlier versions of the 200mm-bore design

as well as a 7 per cent reduction in fuel

consumption in gas mode.

Primarily operating on LNG, the ferry will

be deployed daily between Cuxhaven and the

island of Helgoland on a route passing close to

the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea national park:

an environmentally sensitive UNESCO World

Heritage-listed area in the south eastern part of

the North Sea.

“As the vessel must fulfil the IMO

regulations regarding SOx and NOx

emissions in the North Sea’s Emissions

Control Area, its operations need to be

ecologically friendly with the lowest possible

emissions,” said Dr Bernhard Brons,

chairman of AG Ems, parent company of

Reederei Cassen Eils.

Each W20DF engine in the twin-screw

propulsion plant will drive a 2.6m-diameter

Wärtsilä CP propeller via a Wärtsilä gearbox

equipped with a 700kW PTO/PTI facility.

Wärtsilä will also supply the new ferry

with its shipboard LNGPac fuel bunkering

and supply system, incorporating a 53m3 LNG

storage tank, along with related safety and

automation systems. The group’s patented Cold

Recovery system, exploiting the latent heat of

LNG in the ferry’s air conditioning systems, will

reduce the amount of electricity consumed by

the cooling compressors.

A conversion project booked in April 2013 saw

Cassen Eils’ ferry Ostfriesland retrofitted by Wärtsilä

to dual-fuel propulsion, facilitating service in

similar environmentally sensitive waters.

An artist’s impression of UT 777-design for Island Offshore subsea support

MaKing power for tugs and tankersTwo 7,076 dwt product tankers completed

by Damen Shipyards Bergum (DSB) in

the Netherlands in June and December

last year are sailing under the commercial

management of the UK’s James Fisher

Everard. King Fisher and Kestrel Fisher are the

latest examples of the Damen Double Hull

Oil Tanker 8000 design, which offers a cargo

capacity of 8,363m3.

Gasoline, diesel oil, lubrication oil and jet

fuels will largely be transported in British,

Continental, Scandinavian and Baltic waters

by the 104.5m-long x 17m-wide tankers.

A trials speed of 12.3 knots was achieved

on the summer draught of 6.3m at 90 per

cent maximum continuous rating by a

propulsion plant based on an eight-cylinder

MaK M25C engine (2,640kW at 750 rpm)

driving a 3.85m-diameter CP propeller. The

hulls were built by Damen Shipyards’ Galati

facility in Romania and outfitted at the DSB

yard in Harlingen.

• The most powerful tug in the Canadian

registry entered service in December ›››


One of a pair of Damen-built product tankers with MaK M25C main engines

Canada’s most powerful tug was launched with additional flotation from inflatable bags

Quadruple-Cummins outfits drive large FSVsOffshore tonnage continues to provide

valuable business for Cummins propulsion

and genset engines. A longstanding

US-based customer, Seacor Marine,

specialises in fast support vessels (FSVs)

ranging in length from around 40m to 60m,

with speeds between 25 knots and 35 knots.

Among the operator’s latest acquisitions

is the first of two 54m-long FSVs from the

Neuville Boat Works in Louisiana, offering

a cargo capacity of 196 tonnes on 234m2 of

clear deck space and seating for up to 83

passengers. Tankage is arranged for potable

water, drill/fresh water and fuel oil.

Propulsive power for the ABS-classed

vessels is provided by four Cummins

QSK50-M engines, each developing

1,325kW at 1,800 rpm and driving a

Hamilton HT811 waterjet via a Twin Disc

gearbox with a reduction ratio of 2.58:1.

Speeds of 30 knots (at 50 dwt), 25 knots

(130 dwt) and 21 knots (180 dwt) are

promised by the quadruple-jet installation.

Electrical power is supplied by a pair of

290kW Cummins QSM11-driven gensets.

Twin Cummins K38M engines,

which are EPA Tier 2-compliant and have

a combined rating of 1,470kW, achieve a

speed of 13 knots for the 51m-long supply

vessel Mr Ernie, recently completed by

another Louisiana yard, New Generation

Marine Shipbuilding. Each engine drives

a Bird Johnson four-bladed propeller

through Twin Disc MGX-5321 gearing.

Electrical demands are met by two

300kW Cummins QSM11-driven gensets,

while another QSM11 engine powers the

Brunvoll bow thruster.

Deliveries from the New Generation

yard on the Intracoastal Waterway near

Houma last year included the 21.6m-long x

9m-wide pushboat Gunner. A pair of grid-

cooled Cummins KTA38-M engines (an

industry standard for pushboats of this size)

each yield 735kW at 1,800 rpm, driving

Kahlenberge propellers via Twin Disc 5321

gearboxes with reduction ratios of 6.394:1.

Triple-screw propulsion plant was

specified for ten 42m-long crewboats

building at the Vietnam yard of Australia-

based Strategic Marine for Brunei’s PTAS

Marine. The series was headed by PTAS MV

One and will be completed in June by PTAS

MV Tide.

Designed by Incat Crowther in

conjunction with Strategic Marine and

based on an established 40m aluminium

crewboat model, the larger vessels feature

a steel hull and aluminium superstructure.

Space is arranged for 12 crew, 30

rig workers and 100 survivors of an

emergency; up to 10 tonnes of cargo can be

carried on a clear deck area of the Lloyd’s

Register-classed design.

A central Cummins KTA50-M2 engine

delivering 1,325kW at 1,900 rpm is flanked

port and starboard by KTA38-M2 engines,

each rated at 990kW at 1,900 rpm. A total

of 3,310kW is transmitted by the engines

(all IMO Tier II-compliant) to three fixed

pitch propellers via Twin Disc reduction

gearsets, driving the vessel at 20 knots (at

85 per cent maximum continuous rating

and 40 dwt).

Electrical power is generated by two

80kW Cummins 6BT5.9 diesel-driven sets;

a 312kW Cummins QSJ11-D(M) engine

serves each vessel’s twin bow thrusters.

A 1,400m3 LPG carrier recently

completed by Saigon Shipbuilding &

Marine Industries One Member Co features

twin 294kW Cummins 855 propulsion

engines and a pair of 120kW gensets

driven by Cummins 6C engines. Designed

for coastal and river trading, the 60m-long

x 11m-wide vessel carries cargo in two

tanks. MP

››› with Quebec City-based Ocean Groupe

from the group’s own Ocean Industries yard.

The 6,000kW ASD tug Ocean Tundra is the

latest example of Vancouver naval architect

Robert Allan’s TundRA 100 class icebreaking

tug, which has a nominal bollard pull of

100 tonnes.

A range of duties can be handled by the

36m-long x 13m-wide vessel. These include

tasks such as tanker escort, terminal support,

general shipdocking and icebreaking/ice

management in ports along the St Lawrence

River. Coastal and rescue towage along with

firefighting can also be undertaken.

A free-running speed of 15.13 knots, a

bollard pull (ahead) of 110.3 tonnes, an

escort steering force (predicted) of 122

tonnes at 10 knots and a range of 3,700

nautical miles at 12 knots are provided by an

MaK-powered Z-drive azimuthing thruster

propulsion plant.

Twin nine-cylinder M25C medium speed

engines, each developing 3,000kW at 750

rpm, are installed to drive Rolls-Royce US

305 thrusters equipped with 3m-diameter

CP propellers.

Electrical power is supplied by three

gensets, each driven by a 250kW Caterpillar

C9 high speed diesel engine. The main and

auxiliary engines are resiliently mounted to

maximise noise and vibration isolation.

four stroke engines

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gas carriers

LNG continues to make progress on several

fronts. The ordering boom advances, there

is slow but steady progress in coastal

development as a prelude to the introduction

of LNG bunkering tankers and dual-fuel engine

applications are keeping the orderbooks and

rivalry at an intense level between Wärtsilä and

MAN Diesel & Turbo.

Currently the newbuilding order backlog

stands at a record level of 136 LNG vessels and

the ordering spree is underlined by respective

orderbook figures of 121 and 82 for one and two

years ago. Long lead delivery times now stretch

into 2018 but some now query the wisdom of so

many vessels being ordered when demand may

not match supply.

Generally teams of shipbuilders, owners

and designers along with energy majors work

closely to ensure they get the most appropriately

designed vessels to suit their purpose and serve

the new terminals under construction or being

upgraded. However such is the pressure on berth

space that many orders have to be provisionally

agreed well in advance in the bidding process for

long term contracts.

With a newbuilding recovery underway,

berths for all vessel types have rapidly filled to

their strongest position since the end of the boom

in 2008. Options for LNG carriers are numerous

but the first sign of nervousness is beginning to

impact in the market with these optional slots the

first casualties. For the moment these options are

only at the serious consideration stage but will

occur it seems at some stage.

A few newbuildings delivered on time are

having to work spot business at lower rates until

liquefaction plants are finally commissioned or

seriously consider idling in designated weather-

friendly environments. One thing owners will

want to avoid is a rerun of the 1980s when many

LNG carriers were forced into idleness due to

recession and serious delays in commissioning

of new plants.

The change in energy circumstances today

however means history is unlikely to repeat itself.

Certainly the LNG orderbook is not finished yet

but the market will be hoping for more caution

in new contracting or market stability may be

adversely affected.

In the past year significant events have

occurred. Noticeable is the commissioning of,

and potential orders for, floating storage and

regasification (FSRU) units. Several projects are

out to tender with Golar LNG and Shell at the

forefront in bids. With a newbuilding recovery

underway, In the case of Golar LNG, the company

recently completed a front end engineering and

design feasibility study into converting one of its

ageing LNG carriers into an FSRU role. A contract

on employment for this FSRU is expected by the

end of June after which any conversion would

occupy 30 months with six months of trials

thereafter before formal commissioning.

FSRUs are important for employment

of LNG carriers where even two can give

sustainable employment for ten of the

commercially trading vessels. USA and West

Africa are targets for development especially

with the former developing shale gas export

potential in the next decade.

Golar LNG – a division within the John

Fredriksen empire – took delivery of the

170,000m3 FSRU Golar Igloo, which has a five-

year charter to Kuwait National Petroleum Co

on a seasonal basis. The slightly smaller FSRU

Golar Eskimo is due to be delivered at the end of

2014 and has a ten-year charter commitment

to Jordan. An option has been exercised to

add regasification facilities to Golar Tundra

which is due for delivery in November 2015.

All three vessels have the flexibility to switch to

conventional LNG trading and are products from

Samsung Heavy Industries.

FSRUs are seen as an escape route for heavily

oversubscribed conventional LNG tonnage due

Orderbooks continue to grow, but the market is proving more difficult than expected

by Barry Luthwaite

Trips and slips in the dash for gas

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LNG CARRIERS ON ORDER BY SHIPOWNER – APRIL 2014


gas carriers

for delivery in the next two years. Eighteen

such newbuilding contracts are currently

without employment and may be forced into

unsatisfactory spot business or risk cancellation.

By contrast, ten FSRUs are now on order

with others in the pipeline awaiting the outcome

of successful charter and project negotiations.

The popular size of around 160-170,000m3

capacity was shattered at the start of this

year by the decision of Mitsui OSK to select

DSME to construct the world’s largest FSRU

offering 263,000m3 of capacity. Delivery is set

for September 2016 and the ship will take up

employment near Montevideo under operation

for a GDF Suez/Marubeni joint venture.

Within such a bullish market owners

have looked for niche capacity areas and it

is noticeable how, over the last few months,

China is building up its own LNG coastal fleet

to serve industrial and domestic distribution

demand. A year ago, China launched its

coastal fleet plans with three 28,000-

30,000m3 Chinese designs divided equally

between Cosco Dalian, Jiangnan Shipyard,

and Ningbo Xinle.

This trio of builders hitherto had little

or no experience of LNG construction thus

presenting a new challenge and learning

curve which may eventually attract

export business. All will use Type C tank

containment systems and incorporate dual-

fuel diesel-electric propulsion. Options for

more may be exercised.

The ordering trend was recently taken a

stage further with a new order placed for one

14,000m3 LNG carrier to be built by Qidong

Fengshun Ship Heavy Industry. Demand for

this coastal size range will give a boost to

Wärtsilä’s RT-flex50DF series where a five

cylinder version has been specified for the

new order. Low pressure, dual fuel technology

was unveiled by Wärtsilä in November 2013

for two stroke engines and described in the

business as a “game changer”.

Capital expenditure and operating

expenditure offer significant advantages and

the 50DF series is already compliant with Tier

III emission legislation without resorting to

any exhaust gas cleaning systems. With

costs paramount for owners, studies reveal

that the new engine may be applied to all

vessel types and, in the case of the prototype

order, will yield expenditure savings of

15-20 per cent over comparable vessels

today. It also offers owners a new choice

of propulsion that will enable operation on

100 per cent gas at all loads, dramatically

reducing operational costs.

The proud owner is Zhejiang based Huaxing

Shipping Co, which is already involved in safe

transportation of LNG. Delivery is set for

August 2015. The two-stroke development

from the DF family will enhance the

popularity of dual-fuel application for which

over 1,000 four-stroke units have been sold

by Wärtsilä for land and marine applications.

More orders for two-stroke 50DF models are

expected as owners are presented with a new

choice of cost savings against key rival MAN

Diesel & Turbo.

The coastal transport concept was taken a

stage further by Indonesia with the signing

in principle of a contract with Daehan, South

Korea, for construction of ten 10,000m3

LNG carriers. South Korea dominates LNG

construction but this is the first time coastal

tonnage has been tackled. Daehan is more

closely associated with large bulk carrier

construction and this order represents a

debut in the gas sector.

The Indonesian coastal gas fleet has been

on the drawing board as a project for some

years with the ten-vessel order valued at

US$502 million. Construction will be shared

by a consortium also including KG Cranes

and GSH which, together with Daehan, are

members of a manufacturing co-operative

known as Daebul Industrial Complex. The

owner/operator is Bimantura and the project

has been devised to replace expensive oil with

gas for industrial and domestic use.

Wärtsilä will certainly have its eye on

provision of the slow speed RT-flex50DF

engine series. Although the pace is still

slow; because of infrastructure restrictions

the market is now beginning to see

significant developments for the use of LNG

in maritime transport.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine

Engineering (DSME) signed a letter of intent

with three owners for the 15 remaining

170,000m3 icebreaking LNG carriers designed

for the Yamal LNG project. The planned start

up is in 2017 using the Northern Sea Route

(NSR) when navigable to Dalian and beyond.

Some question whether the project will reach

full fruition but so far a strict time schedule

for the orders has been met.

The prototype was confirmed in January

this year by Sovcomflot at an estimated

US$316 million and DSME has had the other

15 berths reserved for some months. The

remaining vessels will be taken by Teekay

LNG (6), Mitsui OSK (4) and an additional

five units by Sovcomflot. Charters with rolling

options for up to 26 years of employment

come with the orders but the vessels’ huge

cost may require a longer period to clear

financial subjects. On current projects the

contract agreements were due to be finalised

in April, as this issue went to press, and the

charters in May.

Rasheed was the last Q-max 267,335m3

LNG carrier delivered into the Nakilat fleet in

2010 and has now been officially nominated

as the first LNG carrier to be converted from

twin 7S70ME-C propulsion units to twin

electronically controlled gas injection ME-GI

engines enabling burning of LNG as an

alternative fuel choice. Collaboration between

MAN Diesel & Turbo and the Nakilat-Keppel

Offshore & Marine (N-KOM) is already

underway in preparation for the conversion

work. This will take place in April 2015 when

special survey becomes due.

Others will be watching this pilot project

especially in respect of operational savings

but it is unlikely to start a trend; Nakilat

has made it clear this is a one-off project for

the time being. The key to future retrofitting

lies with the charterer who will pay for fuel

consumption but Nakilat will closely evaluate

results soon after redelivery and has not ruled

out similar treatment on other fleet members

depending on charterer acceptance.

Understandably both engine builder and

shipowner are keeping cards close to their

chests but best estimates put the cost of

conversion at between US$15-20 million. The

14-vessel Nakilat Q-Max fleet was ordered

before the main financial crash and thus

specified low speed diesel engines. Since

then, a revolution in gas engines has occurred,

dramatically cutting operating costs.

These savings must be weighed against

the high cost of the conversion however. The

whole Q-Ship fleet numbers 45 vessels so, if

retrofitting is a success, lucrative business

beckons for MAN Diesel & Turbo. MP

LNG CARRIERS ON ORDER BY COUNTRY OF SHIPBUILDER

2014 2015 2016 2017 Total

Expected delivery year no m3 no m3 no m3 no m3 no m3

China 1 170,000 13 592,500 6 857,000 5 809,000 25 2,428,500

Japan 2 298,400 3 473,000 5 803,200 4 678,000 14 2,252,600

Korea (South) 35 5,647,560 28 4,608,000 23 3,996,200 11 1,849,400 97 16,101,160

Total 38 6,115,960 44 5,673,500 34 5,656,400 20 3,336,400 136 20,782,260

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D iesel propulsion in LNG carriers was

pioneered in 1972 by the 29,000m3

Venator with an installation based on a

dual-fuel burning Sulzer 7RNMD 90 low speed

two-stroke engine. Steam turbines shrugged

off this short-lived challenge to their traditional

dominance of the sector, however, and retained

total supremacy in the LNGC propulsion market

for another 30 years.

The introduction of significantly larger

carriers than before – with cargo capacities

up to double the classic 125,000m3 size –

stimulated interest in other propulsion systems

and eventually stifled steam’s hegemony. Dual-

fuel medium speed engines arranged in electric

power stations and low speed heavy fuel oil-

burning diesel engines largely ousted the turbine

from the newbuilding lists. A more recent

challenge was presented by dual-fuel low speed

engines designed to burn the cargo boil-off gas.

A new generation of larger LNG carriers

in the past decade also attracted the interest

of the major gas turbine suppliers GE Marine

and Rolls-Royce, whose power-dense aero-

derived designs promised significant benefits,

particularly in conjunction with electric drives.

Compactness and machinery layout flexibility

could be exploited to enhance cargo carrying

capacity within given ship dimensions.

Excellent emissions characteristics were also

cited, along with low weight and volume; high

reliability; reduced installation costs; freely-

located plant; and low noise and vibration.

Rolls-Royce vigorously marketed its proposals

over several years after joint studies with Shell

Shipping Technology on various propulsion

options for LNGCs. A dual-fuel gas turbine-

electric system for larger ships, particularly those

over 200,000m3 capacity, featured two gas turbine

gensets in a father-and-son configuration.

The larger genset was based on the (then)

new Rolls-Royce MT30 turbine, flat rated at

36MW, and the smaller set on the group’s 501

turbine, rated at 5,000kW. The MT30 set would

provide all power for seagoing service, while the

501 supplied power for cargo pumping and port

duties; in addition, the smaller set provided a

get-home facility in the event of non-availability

of the main genset. A diesel-driven harbour

genset was rated at around 1,500kW.

The gas turbine gensets would be supplied

as packaged units and located in a housing at

main deck level aft of the accommodation; the

housing would be similar in dimensions to the

boiler room casing of contemporary steam-

powered LNGCs.

Such an arrangement eased access for

removing gas turbines for maintenance and

facilitated short and efficient intake and

exhaust trunkings. It also contributed to a

short engineroom which, together with the low

weight of the gas turbine plant, allowed the aft

hull form to be optimised and the cargo volume

maximised within given hull dimensions.

A reduced engineroom length was one of the

merits of an electric rather than a direct-drive

system. A short machinery room was further

fostered by installing the electrical gear and

controls for the main propulsion motors in the

top of the engineroom, with the geared motors

arranged at the bottom.

Primary fuel for the turbines would be cargo

boil-off gas supplemented by vaporised LNG as

required. Liquid fuel of marine gas oil quality

would be carried as a secondary emergency fuel

and for transits to and from drydock when gas

was not available.

Tapping years of experience with Rolls-Royce

dual-fuelled gas turbines in the oil and gas

A strong environment-led case for dual-fuel gas turbine-based propulsion plant can now be made

by Doug Woodyard

Gas turbines renew challenge for power

gas carriers

Compact LNGC propulsion configurations proposed by Rolls-Royce were based on its MT30 aero-derived gas turbine


industry, the dual-fuel MT30 would apply fuel

system hardware derived from the industrial

Trent engine. Some 24 dual-passage injectors

(one for diesel oil, the other for gas) would

supply both fuels to the combustion chamber.

Using a dual-passage injector allows both

fuels to be burned simultaneously in the chamber,

enabling the turbine to maintain power output

while changing fuels or burning a mixture of gas

and liquid fuels. The engine’s electronic controller

governs the fuel admitted via metering valves,

underwriting safe operation in all fuelling modes.

A number of MT30 gas turbine-based

propulsion systems were proposed for LNGCs

of between 145,000m3 and 250,000m3 capacity.

The power density offered the potential to

reduce engineroom length by approximately

19m compared with a steam turbine plant of

equivalent output. The machinery space saving

on a typical LNGC thus enabled the cargo-

carrying capacity to be increased by up to 12 per

cent, Rolls-Royce reported.

An electric drive further helped to optimise

both the cargo area layout and the machinery

system design. Additionally, the very lightweight

power generating plant could be located aft

on the quarterdeck behind the superstructure,

leaving only electrical distribution equipment

and propulsion motors enclosed in the hull below.

Proposals included a combined gas turbine

and steam turbine electric (COGES) propulsion

system featuring a dual-fuel MT30 set arranged

primarily to burn cargo boil-off gas delivered at a

pressure of around 40 bar. A waste heat recovery

steam generator incorporated in the exhaust

stack of the gas turbine supplies a steam turbo-

alternator set which supplements the electrical

output of the main genset. System efficiencies

in excess of 50 per cent were claimed.

Both COGES and simple-cycle gas turbine

electric propulsion concepts were highly flexible

in terms of machinery layout, ease of access for

maintenance and simplified installation, Rolls-

Royce asserted. Furthermore, the low noise

and vibration characteristics of the gas turbine

allowed the machinery to be located next to the

superstructure and accommodation.

US rival GE Marine also promoted the merits

of a number of dual-fuel gas turbine-based

systems in either electric or mechanical drive

arrangements for LNGC propulsion, including

combined-cycle configurations with waste heat

recovery steam turbines. Long experience with

aero-derived gas turbines serving warships as

well as cruise vessels and fast ferries supported

GE Marine’s confidence in solutions based on its

successful LM2500 and LM2500+ series.

Similar benefits in plant layout flexibility

and enhanced cargo capacity to the Rolls-Royce

solutions were advanced by GE Marine. Further

operational benefits – higher manoeuvrability

and propulsion efficiency – were also promised

by adopting an electric podded propulsor

instead of a conventional propeller system and

optimising the aftbody of the hull.

Despite extensive and sustained promotional

campaigns, however, neither GE Marine

nor Rolls-Royce succeeded in breaking into

the market. The US group last year revived

its challenge with an LNGC design jointly

developed with Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co

and Lloyd’s Register.

“We are excited to team up with one of

China’s largest shipyards and a leading maritime

classification agency on this conceptual design,”

said GE Marine’s vice president of marine

operations Brien Bolsinger. “By employing GE

gas turbines, this LNGC design will address

increasingly stringent worldwide environmental

regulations, while providing operators with

reduced life-cycle costs.”

The initial design envisages a COGES system

incorporating a 25MW gas turbine, a steam

turbine-generator set and two dual-fuel diesel

gensets for low power operations and back-up.

Flexibility in prime mover configurations is

facilitated, however, allowing a total installed

power of 50MW if required.

The gas turbines can be equipped with a GE

Dry Low Emissions (DLE) or single annular

combustion system, both of which can meet IMO

Tier III and US EPA Tier 4 NOx requirements

with no exhaust treatment and no methane slip.

Lloyd’s Register last year completed a

preliminary hazard identification study – the

first in a planned series – on the COGES-

powered LNG carrier. The study examined the

carrier’s hazardous areas, structural integrity,

safe separation, pipe routeing and ventilation.

“The studies will help mature the design

and minimise risk for the carrier system,”

explained Lloyd’s Register’s director of business

development and innovation, Nicholas Brown.

The classification society will contribute a

series of risk assessment studies during design

development, leading to a safety case document

that it said will meet or exceed the most onerous

bidding qualification requirements of oil majors

for new technologies for shipping for LNG projects.

Among the benefits of its gas turbine-based

propulsion system for LNGCs, GE Marine cites:

• NOx emissions are inherently low compared

with traditional diesel engines; by last

December, GE had manufactured 835 of its

DLE systems for its aero-derived gas turbines

with an aggregate operating time of almost 18

million hours;

• Fuel flexibility is increasingly appreciated

by operators valuing dual-fuel capabilities

for service in emission control areas; GE gas

turbines can operate on a range of fuels,

including marine gas oil, biodiesel, bio-synthetic

paraffinic kerosene blends and natural gas;

• Lower maintenance costs: even with turbines

operating at full power all the time, combustor

and hot section repair intervals can stretch to

25,000 hours when burning natural gas;

• High availability is fostered by easy maintenance

and scheduled inspections. When engine overhaul

is required, the gas turbine can be changed-out in

24 hours and replaced with a spare unit;

• Maximum reliability and component life

in the marine gas turbines are promoted

by incorporating the latest aircraft engine

design technologies, quality requirements and

corrosion-resistant materials. MP

GE Marine’s LM2500 series gas turbines have a long pedigree in naval and

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H yundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has

continued to demonstrate its ability

to increase its market share, now

claiming 15 per cent of the global market for its

Shipbuilding Division. That is an impressive

figure for a yard that this year marks the 40th

anniversary of its first deliveries and which

was set up by a construction company with

no experience of shipbuilding.

Output passed the 10 million dwt in 1984

and this figure was doubled just four years

later. By 1997, deliveries reached 50 million

dwt, again doubling by 2005. To date, in

excess of 1,800 ships have been supplied to

over 260 owners and operators worldwide.

HHI now operates in three main locations

at Ulsan, Gunsam and Samho. The Ulsan

shipyard at Mipo Bay, covers an area of

approximately 1,800 acres stretching along

4km of coastline. Of this area, nearly 400

acres are occupied by workshops. The Ulsan

yard is equipped to build a wide range of

ships and has nine dry docks served by six

high capacity cranes.

HHI has an extensive track record of

building LNG carriers, including vessels of up

to 177,300m3 capacity, building a customer

portfolio that includes major operators such

as Mitsui and BP. It is also the only South

Korean builder that can supply Moss type

LNG carriers, having built 15 vessels of this

design since 1994. HHI has recently taken an

order for a further four 150,000m3 carriers

for Petronas, Malaysia’s national oil company,

with the first scheduled for delivery in 2016.

These vessels will have four tanks and a

double hull construction.

At its Ulsan yard, LNG carrier construction

takes place in Docks 1 and 8, the former being

390m long, 80m wide and having the services

of two high capacity Goliath cranes. Dock 3

is the largest in the shipyard and capable of

being used to build vessels of up to 1million

dwt. At 672m by 92m, it can cater for a

range of ship types, as too can other docks at

the yard, including VLCCs, naval ships and

special purpose vessels.

HHI’s Gunsan Shipyard, built in 2008,

has an equally impressive range of facilities

including a 1.3 million dwt drydock serviced

by a 1,650 tonne crane. It was designed to

accommodate VVLCs and the facility was

fully booked for production capacity in its

first year of operation. But Gunsan, like other

HHI yards, is also used for other vessels,

including LNG carriers.

HHI can also build LNG carriers at its

Samho shipyard, in the south-west of the

Korea, which became part of the HHI group

in 1999. Here, its facilities include both dry

docks and an on-land building berth, which

was used for an LNG newbuilding for the first

time last year. In fact, it was the first time

this technique had been used anywhere in

the world for such a ship.

The construction principle used is to

assemble the basic hull, LNG tanks and

propulsion system on land before loading

it onto a floating dock by a system of

hydraulic skidding. Hyundai Samho has

used this system previously for around

50 other vessels but LNG carriers weigh

approximately 30 per cent more than other

equivalent size vessels, which made this

application of the technique noteworthy.

HHI stated that this method of construction

is more efficient and cost-effective than

conventional methods.

The vessel, for Golar of Norway, was

ordered in 2012 and will be delivered in July

this year. With a capacity of 162,000m3, it

measures 289m in length, 45m in width and

26m in depth. Following this first success,

HHI plans to build between 10 and 12 further

vessels in this way, orders for which have

already been secured.

HHI scored another world first in February

when it named a newbuilding LNG floating

storage regasification unit (LNG FSRU). It is

the first of four, ordered at HHI’s Ulsan yard

by Höegh LNG, with two more following this

year and the fourth in March 2015.

LNG FSRU are designed to receive LNG

from LNG carriers and have a regasification

system to deliver it to shore as gas. FSRUs

cost half as much as an onshore LNG

terminal and take a year less to complete,

HHI said. They have dual-fuel propulsion

systems so are also mobile and can be

located wherever needed.

This first unit has been chartered for 10

years to Klaipedos Nafta and will be located

in Lithuania’s Port of Klaipeda.

The 294m vessel has a volume of

170,000m3 with storage capacity for 70,000

tonnes of chilled natural gas. Lithuania’s

president Dalia Grybauskaité named the

ship Independence, chosen “to reflect our

government’s strong will toward energy

independence,” she said.

Lee Jai-seong, chairman & CEO of HHI,

looked beyond this delivery to wider LNG

opportunities. “We are pleased that the LNG

FSRU will play a critical role in supplying

LNG in Lithuania,” he said, “and we hope

to keep up the close cooperation with

Lithuania for the construction of energy

infrastructure.” MP

South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries – the world’s largest shipbuilder – has a strong focus on LNG work

HHI builds its LNG reputation

yard profile

HHI has delivered the first newbuilding FSRU, Independence, to Höegh LNG for operation in Lithuania (credit: Höegh LNG)


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T wo low speed diesel engines in an LNG

carrier are to become the first to be

converted for gas fuelling in a project

that could lead to further conversions.

Qatari LNG carrier Nakilat and the country’s

LNG producers Qatargas and RasGas have agreed

with engine manufacturer MAN Diesel & Turbo

to convert the original ME-type engines on one

of Nakilat’s Q-Max vessels into ME-GI (M-type

electronically controlled, gas injection) versions.

These can use LNG as an alternative to heavy fuel

oil (HFO). The ship and its sisters are unusual

among LNG carriers in that they do not use boil-

off gas for propulsion. Instead they reliquefy it, to

maintain the cargo’s volume and value.

Nakilat’s announcement followed several

years of planning, first revealed publicly at the

Gastech 2012 conference. At the conference,

Alaa Abu Jbara, Qatargas chief operating officer

responsible for commercial and shipping, spoke

of the company’s intention to use LNG as fuel,

citing emissions benefits.

In its statement in January Nakilat echoed

those remarks, saying that the project reinforces

Qatar’s commitment toward the environment, as

it will reduce the ship’s exhaust gas emissions.

It also said that the engines would burn more

cleanly in their new configuration, which had

the potential to increase mean time between

maintenance periods.

The statement also referred to flexibility

of fuel supply, which Nakilat said would

help it react to market changes and reduce

bunkering activities, which would in turn reduce

operational risks. But it did not mention cost

benefits. These must be a factor, given the rise in

bunker prices since the original decision to install

diesel engines in 2004. At that time, MAN Diesel

& Turbo hailed the choice as offering significant

cost benefits compared with a traditional steam

turbine propulsion plant.

The engine manufacturer based its forecast

on a comparison of operating costs for a steam

turbine installation and a low speed diesel

arrangement. This showed that the diesel

installation had higher operating costs. However,

once the value of the LNG cargo that would

have been lost through boil-off was taken into

account, the economic benefit was clearly in

favour of the diesel option. But the calculation

was based on a fuel cost of US$150 per tonne

and an LNG selling price of US$4 per Mbtu.

With HFO now costing at least four times as

much, the economic argument is not so clear,

even though LNG values have risen equally

steeply in the intervening decade.

The conversion will be carried out by Nakilat-

Keppel Offshore & Marine (N-Kom) at its Erhama

Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard facilities in Qatar’s

Port of Ras Laffan. A key part of the project has

been subcontracted by MAN Diesel & Turbo to the

German company TGE Marine Gas Engineering,

which provides engineering services for the design

and supply of gas carriers and offshore units,

mostly to shipyards that build gas carriers.

For the Q-Max conversion, it will design

and supply the LNG fuel gas package for the

converted engines. This includes a modular

pre-fabricated fuel gas skid, which is scheduled

for delivery in the first quarter of 2015. In

developing its contribution to the work, TGE

Marine investigated the design of the high

pressure fuel gas supply system with its

partner ACD, a US company that specialises in

cryogenic pumps. The two companies made a

complete dynamic simulation of the system that

considered all load scenarios, TGE Marine said.

In a statement, TGE Marine’s chief executive,

Manfred Küver, described the project as a

positive indicator. “This project is a signal for

the market that the MAN two-stroke ME-GI

solution is one of the most economic approaches

for a modern LNG carrier design.”

There are 14 ships in Nakilat’s Q-Max fleet

of 266,000m3 vessels. At the time of writing

in late February the one that will be converted

had not been identified. If the conversion yields

its expected benefits, further ships may also be

converted. There is no indication of when or how

that assessment will be made, but Nakilat has said

that it has a high level of confidence in the safety

and reliability of the propulsion system, adding

that the modification will meet all currently

known and planned global emissions regulations.

Those additional ships could include the

rest of the Q-Max vessels but may extend to

at least some of the 31 smaller Q-Flex ships of

216,000m3 capacity. Nakilat owns 11 of these

and shares control of the other 20.

According to Marine Propulsion’s sister

publication LNG World Shipping, the work is

expected to take MAN Diesel & Turbo engineers

40 days to complete at a cost of US$15-20 million.

Assessing the payback time will not be easy, the

journal suggested in an editorial comment, due

in part to the high prices Qatar is obtaining for its

gas and to the awaited performance data from the

conversion. But gas engine technology has made

great strides in recent years, it added, which will

have contributed to the decision now to press

ahead with this pilot engine conversion. MP

First gas-fuelled engine conversion to go ahead

repair & maintenance

Nakilat’s N-Kom yard, where the engine conversion will take place (credit: N-Kom)


repair & maintenance

Oman to boost LNG repair skills

LNG carrier repairs will be a focus for Oman Drydock Co (ODC), according to its marketing director Johnny Woo. “We see real potential for growth, particularly in becoming a centre of excellence for the repair of LNG carriers,” Mr Woo said.

Reviewing the yard’s workload in 2013, during which it had docked or repaired a record 75 ships, he said that LNG and LPG ships had been among that number. Now it plans to invest in new facilities, including developments in its cryogenic shop, so that it can handle up to four LNG carriers at once.

As a result of the investment, the yard hopes to become a specialist in LNG repair technology, including such aspects as cargo containment systems and cryogenic safety valves. These capabilities are supported by a

licence that ODC has recently obtained from Gaztransport et Technigaz (GTT) of France, which specialises in LNG cargo containment systems.

This focus on LNG is also expected to benefit from expertise provided by South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), which has been a partner in the yard since its inception and which established an Oman subsidiary in 2008, and its engineering and procurement arm, DSEC. DSME has long experience of building LNG and LPG carriers.

“Our partnership with DSME gives us tremendous experience and technical expertise as it provides 30 highly experienced senior managers, including our chief executive Yong Duk Park, to help run the shipyard,” Mr Woo said.

Damen Shiprepair Brest extends its LNG carrier bookingsDamen Shiprepair Brest is building a growing

reference list for LNG carrier repairs, which

now total eight following a pair of bookings

from Algeria’s Hyproc Shipping Co.

At the time of writing, in early March, the

yard was working on the 126,130m3 Mourad

Didouche, which was built in 1980. Its visit

overlapped with that of another vessel from

Hyproc SC’s eight-strong LNG fleet, Bachir

Chihani. Both are membrane tankers. The

former has a capacity of 126,130m3 and a

deadweight of 83,228. The latter is listed as

holding 129,700 with a deadweight of 70,328.

Details of the work undertaken on the ships

have not been revealed but when Bachir Chihani

arrived, the yard described the work scope as

extensive, adding that it would require almost

30,000 man-hours of work over a period of

about a month. Jos Goris, managing director

of Damen Shiprepair Brest, said that the vessel

ensured the continuation of its LNG activities

with Hyproc SC, with which it has conducted

previous business.

The yard’s gas shiprepair work is set to

continue. “We hope to have some more LNG

carriers in the yard over the next couple of

months,” Mr Goris told Marine Propulsion in

March, despite what he views as a fiercely

competitive environment for this type of work.

At the time of Bachir Chihani’s arrival, he had

praised the yard’s workforce for its LNG skills

and experience, saying that these, together

with efficiency improvements and its award

in November of an ISO 9001:2008 quality and

safety management certificate, had helped to

win the business.

Those skilled staff joined the Damen

group of yards when it acquired the former

Sobrena shiprepair business in March

2012 to create Damen Shiprepair Brest.

Speaking at the time, René Berkvens, chief

executive of Damen Shipyards, welcomed

the experience that Sobrena’s workforce

brought to the group, especially when it

came to LNG tankers. MP

Oman Drydock Co plans to increase its LNG repair capabilities (credit: ODC)

LPGC is ASRY’s 4,000th ship

Mourad Didouche and Bachir Chihani extended Damen Shiprepair Brest’s LNG carrier work (credit: Damen Shiprepair Brest)

Cargo pumps were among the items overhauled

when the 49,880 dwt LPG carrier Gas Al-Gurain

visited the Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard

(ASRY) in Bahrain towards the end of last year.

It was the 4,000th ship to visit the yard, which

has been in operation since 1977 – longer than

any yard in the Arabian Gulf, ASRY said. The

ship is owned by Kuwait Oil Tanker Co (KOTC),

one of ASRY’s longest standing customers.

A yard spokesman told Marine Propulsion

that the ship benefited from attention to a wide

range of systems and steelwork, including stern

tube repairs, main engine and turbocharger

overhauls and servicing and calibration for all

electronic equipment. Steelwork on the hull and

superstructure was treated and the water ballast

tanks were blasted and painted, while many

other items received routine maintenance.

ASRY News, the yard’s newsletter, predicted

continued success for the yard in its issue

for the first quarter of 2014. “With more

expansions planned in the five-year strategy,

another 4,000 ship repairs at ASRY seem more

than likely,” it said.


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environment

MHI hails LNG carrier’s environmental conceptMitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has

conferred one of its Best Innovation 2013

awards on the organisation’s Sayaendo LNG

carrier project, which it has described as “a

leading force in the movement to develop

energy-saving eco ships offering enhanced

environmental performance.”

The design uses MHI’s ultra steam

turbine (UST) plant, which achieves higher

thermal efficiency through the effective use

of thermal energy by reheating steam. Other

design features are said to reduce fuel

consumption by 20 per cent compared with

existing designs. These include a peapod-

shaped continuous cover for the four Moss

spherical tanks, which will improve the

vessel’s aerodynamics.

An article in the MHI publication Technical

Review described another of the design’s

environmental benefits, the new low-load

gas mode (NLLGM). This is said to minimise

fuel gas consumption at low load. It is an

improvement on the established low-load

gas mode (LLGM), which allows gas-only

combustion while manoeuvring by managing

the transition between gas-only and dual-fuel

operation. That however, “constantly uses

more gas fuel than necessary to support the

load required by the turbine plant,” the article

reported. The NLLGM achieves the same

swift transition but does not use more boil-off

cargo gas than necessary for combustion.

Seven of the ships have been ordered

so far and the first is due for delivery during

the 2014-15 fiscal year, which ends on

31 March 2015. This is one of two jointly

ordered by Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and

Osaka Gas Co.

The 288m ships will each carry

153,000m3 of LNG and have a deadweight

of 75,000 tonnes. MHI expects there to be

continuing demand for the ships, thanks

to the suspension of operation of Japan’s

nuclear power plants and expanded shale

gas production in the USA.

MHI’s Sayaendo concept is shaped to reduce air resistance over its Moss-type LNG tanks (credit: MHI)

The Cameron LNG project in Louisiana, USA,

has been given a conditional go-ahead to

export gas to more countries than are covered

by its existing approvals. The conditions

include meeting the requirements of an

environmental impact assessment that is being

carried out by the independent Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission (FERC).

In mid February the US Department of

Energy gave its conditional non-Free Trade

Agreement (FTA) approval which, once the

conditions are met, will give the project’s

partners authority to export to countries that

do not have FTAs with the USA. Currently, 20

countries have FTAs and the project has had

approval to deal with these since January 2012.

One of the partners, GDF Suez, said

in a statement that completion of the

environmental impact assessment by FERC

was expected within weeks, but did not

give details of the requirements that the

assessment might impose.

In January, however, FERC had issued a

draft impact statement which said that the

project would have some harmful effects on

the environment, but that the impact would

not be significant if Cameron adopted the

recommended mitigation measures.

“We conclude that construction and

operation of the Cameron Liquefaction

Project would result in mostly temporary

and short-term environmental impacts,”

FERC said. “However, the project would

result in permanent impacts on wetlands,

forests, pine plantations, agricultural lands,

migratory birds, and essential fish habitat,

and long-term environmental impacts on

some species.”

According to the Law360 online news

service, FERC recommended that Cameron

institute a range of mitigation measures that

it had already proposed to address those

permanent changes. The commission also said

that an environmental inspection programme

would be implemented, to ensure compliance

with all mitigation measures, conditions, and

other stipulations included in permits from

other federal, state and local agencies.

GDF Suez entered into a joint venture

agreement with Sempra Energy, Japan LNG

Investment (a joint venture entity formed

by subsidiaries of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki

Kaisha and Mitsubishi Corp) and Mitsui &

Co to develop the Cameron LNG project. GDF

Suez holds a stake of 16.6 per cent.

The facility will have a liquefaction

capacity of 12 million tonnes per annum.

In total, Cameron will be able to export 1.7

billion standard cubic feet (35,700 tonnes)

of gas per day for 20 years from its proposed

US$6 billion Cameron Parish terminal

in Louisiana, which is due to become

operational in 2018.

For GDF Suez, this gas will be an

important addition to its LNG supply

portfolio. This currently stands at 16 million

tonnes per annum, which the company said

is the third largest in the world. It controls a

large fleet of 14 LNG carriers under mid and

long term charter agreements and is Europe’s

main LNG importer. MP

The Cameron LNG project has reached a key stage but needs to comply with an environmental impact assessment (credit: GDF Suez)

Cameron LNG project awaits environment report

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M alaysian state-owned oil and gas

company Petronas has recently

placed an order with Hyundai Heavy

Industries Company (HHI) of South Korea to

build four new 150,000m3 Moss-type liquefied

natural gas (LNG) carriers (see also page 33). The

contract, which was signed in Seoul in October

2013, includes an option for a further four carriers

of the same class and the first deliveries of these

new generation Moss type spherical tank carriers

are scheduled for late in 2016.

A month later, in November 2013, Mitsubishi

Heavy Industries Marine Machinery & Engine

Co (MHI-MME) received an order from HHI for

four of its Ultra Steam Turbine (UST) plants to

power these vessels, with HHI also including

the option for a further four units. For MHI,

this order is a landmark, being the first sale of

USTs outside the Japanese domestic market. The

company now plans to promote its marine steam

turbine products more actively and increase its

stake in the global marketplace.

MHI introduced UST designs with the aim

of improving fuel consumption of marine steam

turbine plant by introducing a reheat cycle. In

this configuration the exhaust from the high

pressure steam turbine is routed back through

the boiler reheater section, raising temperatures

to the same levels as the boiler superheater

outlet, before entering the intermediate pressure

turbine stage. This additional stage provides

increased shaft power and the reheat cycle also

increases overall plant efficiency.

In designing the reheat boiler, MHI retained

the basic needs of high reliability, compact design

and minimum weight construction but also took

into consideration specific marine operating

conditions. Compared with land-based steam

turbine plant, marine propulsion systems must

be able to cope effectively with low steam flows

and frequent load changes during manoeuvring

and other varying load conditions.

For reliability in service, the reheater tubes

must therefore be resistant to failure from the

risk of high metal temperatures. From the design

options available, MHI selected a dual furnace

approach to maximise reheater reliability. With

this arrangement the reheater and reheat furnace

are located in the main boiler combustion gas

outlet, providing lower gas inlet flow temperatures.

For the boiler design, MHI adopted the

construction principles of its MB type

conventional boiler, adding a downstream

reheat furnace in the gas flow path. The main

and reheat furnaces are fully water-cooled

and of welded wall construction to ensure no

leakage can occur from the gas path. To achieve

further efficiency increase, the UST design also

includes an increase in the surface area of

the superheater through the introduction of a

secondary exchanger operating in parallel.

Steam temperatures in this secondary

superheater are higher than in the primary

but metal temperatures are controlled as it is

shielded from direct heat radiation from the

furnace. Combustion gas temperatures are also

reduced through heat absorbed in the primary

superheater. Overall metal temperatures are

therefore held to similar levels as seen in

conventional boilers, despite higher steam

Despite the growth in popularity of dual-fuel engines, the option of high efficiency boiler and steam turbine plan is still attractive to operators

Steam turbines retain market for LNG carrier propulsion

steam turbines

An MHI UST steam turbine plant. Four are on order for Petronas LNGCs at HHI (credit: MHI)

Boilers for MHI’s UST steam turbines (credit: MHI)


Kawasaki offers steam turbine and diesel optionsKawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) has become a

major player in building LNG carriers, delivering its

first steam turbine driven vessel, the Golar Spirit in

1976. Three decades later, in 2006, KHI announced

the completion of its 100th marine steam turbine

for installation in a 145,000m3 capacity vessel, 24

of which had been delivered during the previous

financial year ending March 2006.

They have all been fitted with its own steam

turbines, which have a history going back to 1907

when it manufactured its first marine turbines

under a technical alliance with the USA’s Curtis

Company. When the agreement lapsed in 1925, it

began developing its own designs.

Despite being a leader in steam turbine

technology, however, KHI has also seized

opportunities to provide LNG carriers with

alternative propulsion systems. In October last

year, for example, it delivered the 2,500m3 domestic

LNG carrier Kakuyumaru, which is powered by

steam turbines

temperatures being achieved.

One major benefit in the use of steam turbine

plant in LNG carriers continues to be the levels of

exhaust gas emissions during normal operation

using boil-off gas. Carbon dioxide emissions are

reduced due to the nature of the fuel and the

UST plant has a further positive impact on these

through its increased efficiency. As an additional

benefit, NOx and SOx emissions are also low

for steam turbine plants, which can a particular

advantage during times spent in port and while

loading and unloading the LNG cargo.

The MHI UST plant turbine design has also

been revised, primarily to include an intermediate

pressure stage. This is integrated with the high

pressure stage, operating back to back on the

same shaft, with a central inlet casing for both

stages. Designs are rated for higher steam inlet

temperatures of up to 560°C and new technology

has been introduced to both blade and nozzle

designs. Pressure at the superheater outlet is now

increased to 10 barG with a boiler design rating

of 12 barG. UST plants are available with outputs

ranging from 23MW up to 37MW and nominal

turbine shaft speed is 76 rpm for a 25MW rated

installation. As a result of these improvements,

MHI claims that UST plant performance is

improved by 15-20 per cent compared with its

earlier, conventional steam turbine (CST) designs.

For the initial HHI order for the Petronas

LNG carriers, MHI will provide four complete

UST plants, with each vessel being equipped

with two boilers and a single steam turbine

propulsion package. The first plant delivery to

HHI is planned for 2015 with Petronas receiving

its first new vessel in 2016.

Each double-hulled carrier will be fitted

with four independent self-supporting spherical

tanks which provide good performance during

loading and unloading operations, having lower

tendencies to exhibit sloshing forces compared

with membrane tank system. This makes the

design preferable for operation in rough seas

conditions. The total value of the order is

reported by HHI as being worth $850 million.

HHI claims that it is the only Korean

shipbuilder able to currently build Moss-type

LNG carriers and has delivered 15 vessels

from its Ulsan shipyard since 1994. Following

the signing of the contract with Petronas, Ka

Sam-Hyun, executive vice president of HHI’s

shipbuilding division, was optimistic about

future orders and the significance of pressure

on emissions. “We see this order as the first of

many for LNG carriers as regulations for carbon

dioxide emission tighten and demand for LNG

increases as an alternative energy source,” he

said. With further potential orders in sight,

these new vessels are also a clear indication

that PETRONAS is moving further into direct

involvement in the LNG marketplace.

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a diesel engine and hence does not require the

boil-off gas treatment equipment as is required for

more conventional large-scale LNG carriers.

The following month KHI delivered the LPG

carrier Crystal Sunrise to Kumiai Navigation. This

82,200m3 vessel is the first LPG carrier to have the

Sea-Arrow bow design developed by Kawasaki to

minimise bow wave resistance. Propulsive power

is provided by an ultra-long-stroke two-stroke

diesel engine with efficiency further increased by

the adoption of KHI’s innovative rudder bulb and

duct system which enhances propeller efficiency.

But steam turbine powered carriers still

remain a key product for KHI and application

of the company’s advanced reheat turbine plant

has increased vessel efficiencies. One of the most

recent deliveries has been that of the LNG carrier

Grace Dahlia to NYK. With a storage capacity of

177,427m3, this is the largest Moss-type LNG

carrier currently in operation and the second

of its type to be delivered by KHI. This increase

was achieved by expanding the size of the four

spherical LNG tanks.

Propulsive power is provided by KHI’s

Advanced Reheat Turbine Plant, designated as

the URA plant, which was developed specially for

application in LNG carriers. The plant incorporates

a reheat cycle with steam taken from the high

pressure turbine exhaust being returned to the

boiler for further heating before being sent on to

a medium pressure turbine stage.

This cycle, which uses a high pressure and

temperature boiler, achieves a dramatic increase in

thermal efficiency. As a result, fuel consumption

is reduced, with KHI claiming an improvement

in the order of 15 per cent compared to more

conventional steam turbine plants.

The first vessel of this type produced by KHI

was the Energy Horizon, which has a length of

300m, breadth of 52m and a gross register of

143,000gt. The vessel was built at the Sakaide

Shipyard of the Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corp

and went into operation in 2011 for NYK Line

and Tokyo LNG Tanker Co (TLT).The Panamax

vessel was the 10th LNG tanker in the TLT

fleet and initially targeted at LNG transport

for developments such as the Pluto project in

western Australia. Energy Horizon is managed by

NYK and chartered to TLT for a 20-year period.

KHI conventional marine steam turbine

plants are available in 10 basic frame sizes,

starting with the UA-120 with outputs from

5,800kW to 8,800kW. At the high end of the

range, the UA-500 delivers a maximum output

of 36,800kW from a package weighing a total

of 360 tonnes. Propeller shaft speeds range

between 80 and 125 rpm, corresponding to

the normal requirements of LNG carriers. The

URA reheat turbine plants are available in four

frame sizes, with the lowest output at 20,600kW

and the highest at 36,800kW. Shaft speeds are

configured at between 80 and 90 rpm. MP

Energy Horizon, to be fitted with KHI’s Advanced Reheat Turbine Plant (credit: KHI)

pioneeringWith Becker’s two newly developed LNG concepts, the company is

proving once again its innovative spirit on behalf of our environment.

The Wadden Sea Ferry with its ground-breaking LNG HYBRID drive

signifi cantly reduces the negative impact of passenger shipping on

shallow European coastal waters.

Additionally, the LNG HYBRID Barge generates energy for cruise ships

lying in port. Compared to the current method of producing energy using

their on-board diesel engines, the implementation of power supply by the

LNG HYBRID Barge will lead to a dramatic reduction of harmful particle

emissions during harbour layovers.

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A contract to power the US Navy’s future

fleet of hovercraft, the Ship-to-Shore

Connector (SSC), specifies Rolls-Royce

MT7 marine gas turbines derived from the

group’s successful AE1107 engine. Only minor

variations from the aero parent, which powers

the US Marine Corp’s Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey

tilt-rotor aircraft, are required for the SSC

application, resulting in more than 90 per cent

component commonality.

Among the refinements are a new engine

controller, bleed system and power take-off

shaft to suit the requirements of the hovercraft.

Rolls-Royce – whose hovercraft propulsion

pedigree includes the world’s largest, the SRN

4, during the 1960s and 1970s – will work with

Textron Marine & Land Systems to design and

manufacture the intake and exhaust architecture

as well as the mounting system.

US-based Textron is developing the SSC

and will build the initial craft in a programme

that could extend to 73 units. The fleet will

replace the US Navy’s current Landing Craft

Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercraft over the next

20 years for rapidly deploying personnel and

vehicles between surface ships and the shore.

Four MT7 gas turbines in each SSC will be

connected to an advanced gearbox system to

provide both propulsion and lift.

“Our gas turbine technology will increase the

power of the hovercraft by 25 per cent compared

with the previous generation, enabling each to

transport up to 74 tonnes of cargo at speeds over

35 knots,” reported Andrew Marsh, Rolls-Royce

president-naval. “At the same time, our engines

will improve fuel efficiency by 11 per cent.”

“The AE1107 is the ideal choice for several

reasons,” noted SSC programme manager

Paul Jones. “The marinisation of an aero gas

turbine would normally require some special

blade coatings so the engine can withstand

the maritime environment. But the Osprey is

designed to fly from ships and has accumulated

over 170,000 operating hours, so development

risk is minimised. The MT7 will undergo

endurance testing to become type-certified to

ABS’ Naval Vessel Rules.”

The MT7’s twin-shaft axial design

incorporates a 14-stage compressor followed

by an effusion-cooled annular combustor, a

two-stage gas generator turbine and a two-

stage power turbine. The cold end-drive engine

features six stages of variable compressor vanes,

a dual channel full authority digital electronic

control system, modular construction and an

‘on-condition’ maintenance capability.

Fuel and oil systems that are fully

integrated on the engine assembly contribute

to compactness and lightness. Significant

in-service benefits in terms of spares holdings

and maintenance training are anticipated from

the V-22 Osprey aircraft deployed by the US

Navy ships that will carry the SSC hovercraft.

A fully developed suite of component repairs,

special tools and publications are available from

the aircraft engine to support the MT7.

AE family upgrades – which have been

previously carried out on the engine across a

range of aircraft – could increase the available

power of the MT7 by up to 20 per cent or extend

its life. The power growth capability would

Gas turbine solutions are favoured for diverse naval applications but growing interest in LNG-fuelled installations could stimulate commercial shipping business

by Doug Woodyard

Compact power for warship gensets and propulsion

gas turbines

Rolls-Royce MT7 turbines – four per shipset – will power the US Navy’s SSC hovercraft fleet


enable larger payloads to be handled or life-cycle

cost savings to be realised.

Engines for the SSC development programme

are due for delivery to Textron in 2015, with

the first test craft beginning trials in 2017 and

becoming operational in 2020.

Rolls-Royce believes the MT7 gas turbine to

be well suited to other naval applications; diverse

system configurations for either mechanical or

electrical drives promise higher flexibility in

propulsion system layout.

US Navy demand for Rolls-Royce gas

turbine-powered gensets is primed to continue

with Department of Defence commitments to

additional DDG51-class destroyers, which have

already logged the longest production run for

any US Navy surface combatant. The 200th

AG9140 genset was installed last year on USS

John Finn, the 63rd ship in the Arleigh Burke

(DDG51) series.

Each vessel features three 3,000kW sets to

supply all electrical power for hotel services and

combat equipment. The sets are driven by 501-

K34 gas turbines, derived from the T56 engine

that powers C130 Hercules transport aircraft.

AG9140 gensets are also in service with

the Republic of Korea Navy’s latest KDX-III

destroyers. The first of these sets were built

and tested at the Rolls-Royce Indianapolis

facility in the USA, the others supplied as kits

for assembly and testing by Samsung Techwin

in South Korea. Similar gensets are serving

with the navies of Spain and Greece and with

Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Agency.

Development of the AG9140 resulted in

an RF variant. The R indicates a redundant

independent mechanical start system,

enabling a dark-ship start from batteries only

(a built-in mechanical starter uses a small

Rolls-Royce model 250-KS4 engine); the F

indicates full authority digital controls for the

engine/genset systems.

More powerful RR4500 gas turbine-

generator sets rated at 4,000kW are specified

for the US Navy’s new DDG 1000 Zumwalt-

class destroyers, for each of which Rolls-Royce

will supply two such auxiliary gensets and two

36MW main generators powered by its MT30

gas turbines.

A versatile range of power options will

be offered by this integrated all-electric

machinery for propulsion and onboard

systems: the MT30-based sets providing

the bulk of the power and the RR4500 sets

securing economy during light load conditions

and peaking power when needed.

The DDG 1000 design, harnessing

approximately ten times the electrical power of

a DDG 51 destroyer, marks the first application

by the US Navy of a large gas turbine for

driving a generator set.

MT30 engines – the world’s most powerful

marine gas turbines – are also powering US

Navy Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) and will drive

the UK Royal Navy’s two Queen Elizabeth-class

aircraft carriers. The Royal Navy’s projected Type-

26 global combat ships will also feature an MT30

turbine as part of a CODELOG configuration.

GE Marine’s continuing commitments

include LM2500 gas turbines for the US Navy’s

Austal-built LCS programme, headed into

service in 2010 by the 127m-long aluminium-

hulled trimaran USS Independence. Twin 22MW

sets are incorporated in a CODAG propulsion

configuration partnered by MTU Series 8000

high speed diesel engines.

A marine sector debut for GE’s LM2500+G4

turbine was earned from the Italian and French

Navies’ FREMM frigate programme, a series due

for launching one per year from 2013 through

to 2022. Benefiting from refinements from the

latest generation of commercial and military

aircraft engines, the +G4 derivative yields 17 per

cent more power and a 6 per cent higher air flow

than the LM2500+ generation.

Adding to its US Navy references – over

700 sets have been delivered for surface

combatants – the LM2500 is booked to power

gas turbines

Rolls-Royce MT30 turbines are specified for major Royal Navy and US Navy warships

GE’s LM500 to power Korean patrol boatsGE’s smallest marine gas turbine, the aero-derived LM500, continues to earn references from naval patrol boats, the latest projects including the Republic of Korea Navy’s PKX-B programme. The gas turbines for the projected 34-ship series will be manufactured in Korea by Samsung Techwin at its Changwon facility, the first production phase covering 16 shipsets.

PKX-B patrol boats will feature LM500 turbines with ratings of around 4,425kW in a CODAG plant.

Capabilities have been established by GE in Korea to support the LM2500 and LM500 gas turbine requirements of the ROK Navy. The US group expects, through Samsung Techwin, to supply more than 100 LM500 engines for the earlier PKX-A and the new PKX-B programmes. Samsung Techwin locally manufactures selected parts and assembles and tests the completed engines.

GE provides support to its Korean partner for the gas turbine, control and

reduction gear systems as well as to the shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction and the ROK Navy throughout installation, sea trials and commissioning.

Derived from GE’s TF34/CF34 turbofan aircraft engines, the LM500 has 90 per cent commonality with the CF34 which powers the popular CRJ100/200 regional jet. The simple-cycle two-shaft LM500 design with cold end-drive capabilities is based on a gas generator and free power turbine; a 14-stage axial flow compressor yields a pressure ratio of 14.5:1.

GE Marine, a business unit of GE Aviation

The LM family of engines from GE Marine has been powering navies and commercial ships around the world for decades. Today, we offer a full range of power from the 4,470 kW LM500 to the 42,750 kW LM6000.

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the DDG 117 and DDG 118 destroyers USS

Paul Ignatius and USS Daniel Inouye. The gas

turbines (four per shipset) will be delivered

this year to the respective builders, General

Dynamics/Bath Iron Works and Huntingdon

Ingalls Industries.

These LM2500 units will feature

improvements made through GE’s common

engine programme, including upgrades of

the compressor rotor, turbine mid-frame,

compressor rear frame and power turbine.

The programme fosters cost control, enhanced

manufacturing and durability, and reduced

spares lead times. Common engine changes

are contained within the gas turbine to

avoid impact on ship interfaces and onboard

maintenance activities.

Overseas navies also continue to provide

business for GE Marine. Three Hobart-class

air warfare destroyers completing at the

domestic ASC yard for the Royal Australian

Navy (RAN) each incorporate twin LM2500

sets within a CODOG configuration. The

ships are based on a design developed and

applied by Navantia of Spain for the Spanish

Navy’s F100 frigate programme.

The RAN already operates 16 x LM2500

units in its Adelaide- and ANZAC-class

frigates; further sets will be deployed in a pair

of Canberra-class LHD vessels, each featuring

one gas turbine as part of a CODLAG system.

A combined diesel-electric and gas turbine

propulsion plant incorporating a single

LM2500 will also drive the German Navy’s

new F125-class frigates; the first of four

such ships was christened in December at

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in Hamburg,

part of a German construction consortium.

GE is supplying the LM2500 turbines

from its Evendale, Ohio, facility to MTU

Friedrichshafen in Germany for assembly

into propulsion modules.

Four LM2500 gas turbines together

delivering 80MW will power the Indian

Navy’s first domestic-built aircraft carrier,

INS Vikrant, which will be handed over after

extensive trials in late 2016/early 2017.

The propulsion modules were assembled,

inspected and tested in India by Hindustan

Aeronautics using GE-supplied kits; the

licensee’s modules also power three Indian

Navy stealth frigates.

LM2500 sets in service are benefiting from

digital fuel control (DFC) system retrofits to

improve gas turbine reliability and deliver

lower maintenance and reduced long-term

costs. The DFC kits from GE incorporate the

most advanced controls now standard for new

LM2500, LM2500+ and LM2500+G4 turbines

in contrast to the hydro-mechanical control

systems of earlier generation sets.

DFC technology secures more accurate

fuel and air scheduling within the turbine

installation through electrical feedback and

closed-loop control; and fuel characteristics

and variable stator vane (VSV) positions can

be recalibrated via the control software inputs.

Furthermore, gas turbine control sensor

redundancy is available for compressor discharge

pressure, compressor inlet temperature and

pressure, gas generator speed, VSV position

and fuel metering valve position. Improved

operator signals, alarms and troubleshooting

are provided by additional electrical sensors

and actuator feedback.

DFC kits also offer improved capabilities

for data capture and condition monitoring as

well as enhanced engine resistance to possible

fuel contamination through oil actuation of

the VSV fuel metering valve.

GE Marine has teamed up with China’s

Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co and Lloyd’s

Register to develop a gas turbine-powered LNG

carrier design, reviving an earlier unsuccessful

challenge in that market also mounted by

Rolls-Royce. The growing popularity of gas-

fuelled propulsion solutions and an expanding

LNG bunkering network should stimulate

interest in gas turbine power for appropriate

commercial tonnage. MP

gas turbines

Vericor targets fast naval and passenger projectsGeorgia, USA-based Vericor Power Systems’ is targeting fast patrol boat, attack craft, corvettes and hovercraft propulsion markets, while the compactness and light weight of its TF Series system have also earned installations in fast ferries and megayachts.

The company’s pedigree extends over more than 30 years, although the company dates only from 1999. Its parentage started with AVCO Lycoming, which originated the TF Series marine gas turbines, and culminating with MTU Aero Engines.

Lycoming Turbine Engine was acquired in 1995 by AlliedSignal (now Honeywell) from Textron, along with its TF marine gas turbine. In 1999 AlliedSignal set up a joint venture with MTU Aero of Munich for marine and industrial business under the name Vericor Power Systems. Vericor became (and remains) a wholly-owned subsidiary of MTU Aero Engines in 2002.

Vericor’s aero-derived TF Series gas turbines – TF40, ETF40B and TF50A models – cover continuous power ratings from just under 3,000kW to 3,803kW (with boost power ratings from 3,430kW to 4,176kW). Propulsion and electrical power generation applications in naval and commercial vessels are addressed.

The cold end-drive turbine can be integrated into a package by cantilever mounting directly to the reduction gearing or mounting to a horizontal support frame and connecting to the gearing via a shaft and coupling. More powerful packages can be created by integrating two or three turbines in either side-by-side, over/under or Tri-pak configurations, depending on the space constraints of the hull.

Typical of Vericor’s fast naval installations are US Navy Landing Craft-Air Cushion (LCAC) vessels, which feature four Vericor ETF40B engines for driving the lift and propulsion fans.

Last year the US Navy ordered another eight ETF40B engines, taking the total to 16 for LCAC Service Life Extension Programme (SLEP) requirements in fiscal 2013. The engine delivers around 20 per cent more power than the model it replaces on LCACs, fostering improved performance in hot weather and a higher payload, as well as reducing life-cycle costs. The SLEP version of the LCAC extends service life from 20 to 30 years.

TF Series gas turbines are designed to burn marine diesel oil, kerosene or jet fuel. Successful running on a 50/50 mix of algae-based fuel and conventional marine diesel has been demonstrated by an LCAC installation, however, with no operational problems or degradation of performance reported. A subsequent inspection found the engines to be cleaner than when operating on straight marine diesel.

Vericor TF Series turbines have operated successfully on a 50/50 mix of algae-based fuel and marine diesel oil

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R egulatory authorities are being

requested to review an ever-increasing

number of LNG-fuelled vessel concept

designs. More and more owners and operators

are considering the use of natural gas to power

their ships in compliance with the tightening

international regime governing emissions of

atmospheric pollution from ships.

Despite several disadvantages attendant on

the technology, gas-burning engines comply

with all existing and anticipated restrictions on

emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen

oxides (NOx) laid down in Annex VI to IMO’s

Marine Pollution (Marpol) Convention. These

include the requirements that the sulphur

content of the fuel used by ships sailing in

emission control areas (ECAs) be reduced from

1 to 0.1 per cent from 1 January 2015 onwards

and from 3.5 to 0.5 per cent in ships sailing

worldwide by either 2020 or 2025. The choice

of implementation date for the latter restriction

will depend on the results of an IMO review later

in the decade.

These concept design review requests pose

challenges for regulators because of their diverse

nature. The applications for LNG-fuelled ship

design projects span a full range of vessel types,

from passenger vessels and ferries, tankers and

bulk carriers to container ships, car carriers,

offshore support vessels, tugs and icebreakers.

The different types of gas-burning engines also

need to be considered, as do varying options

for gas treatment equipment and bunker tank

design and location. On top of that, the logistics

of the bunkering operation is very often unique

to a particular vessel.

The availability of an agreed international

regulatory regime will greatly facilitate the

task of flag administrations in approving

LNG-propelled vessel designs and the work of

port and coastal states charged with verifying

compliance. While the maritime industry is

working hard on the development of such an

instrument – in the form of IMO’s International

Code for Ships using Gas or other Low Flash-

Point Fuels (IGF Code) – the use of LNG to

power ships that are not LNG carriers is a

relatively recent phenomenon and the code is

still in draft form.

Work on the IGF Code is nearing completion

but a handful of contentious issues await

resolution and IMO machinery is such that

the provisions requiring clarification need

input from several of the organisation’s sub-

committees. Development of the code in its final

phase is being progressed via a correspondence

group. Although the group is currently also

addressing the use of methanol and low flash

point diesel fuels, the primary focus remains

on LNG.

Recent IMO sub-committee work on the code

has included a review of the location of LNG

bunker tanks by the Ship Design & Construction

Sub-Committee and the development of STCW

training requirements by the Human Element,

Training & Watchkeeping Sub-Committee.

Although IMO is prioritising finalisation of

the IGF Code, and targeting a spring 2015

adoption date, under this timetable the new

regime would still not become mandatory until

sometime in the first half 2017. Once the work

on the use of LNG, methanol and low flash point

diesel fuels is complete, other fuels such as LPG

will be addressed.

Fortunately for IMO member states seeking

adherence to uniform provisions governing the

use of LNG as fuel, there is an interim, voluntary

regime in place that is the precursor of the IGF

Code. That is IMO Resolution MSC.285(86),

Interim Guidelines on Safety for Natural Gas-Fuelled

Engine Installations in Ships, which was published

by the organisation in June 2009.

This guidance owes much to the pioneering

provisions governing LNG-fuelled ships

developed by the class society Det Norske Veritas

(DNV, now DNV GL). DNV developed its rules

to underpin the use in Norway of LNG as a fuel

to propel vessels, beginning with the cross-fjord

passenger ferry Glutra in 2000. Glutra is the

global LNG-powered fleet’s pioneering vessel and

amongst the 40 ships running on gas that are not

LNG carriers now in service worldwide, the vast

majority are operating in Norwegian waters.

The growing interest in LNG-powered vessels has put pressure on shipowners and regulators to finalise a new mandatory regime governing the use of gas as marine fuel

by Mike Corkhill

Finalising the LNG bunkering rulebook

cryogenic engineering

The location of LNG bunker tanks on ships, not least passenger vessels, has been a key discussion topic during the development of the IGF Code


On Glutra, LNG is vaporised by the engine

coolant and supplied to four 675kW ultra lean

burn natural gas engines placed above deck in

four separate and well ventilated engine rooms.

Each engine is coupled to a 720 kVA generator

supplying electric power through frequency

converters to asynchronous 1,000kW motors

coupled to twin steerable propellers at each

end of the ferry. The Glutra solution has proved

to be just one of a wide range of gas-powered

propulsion system arrangements now being

used by shipowners.

In addition to the IMO Resolution

MSC.285(86) interim guidelines and the DNV

rules, most of the other major class societies have

also published rules or guidelines for gas-fuelled

engine installations. These standards align closely

with the IMO interim guidelines and in some

cases provide more comprehensive requirements.

In working with this regime to assess the

viability of vessel designs that incorporate gas-

fuelled propulsion systems, flag administrations

are developing their own levels of expertise

with the technologies involved. They, in turn,

utilise the guidance as a baseline standard in

developing their own set of design criteria for

gas-fuelled vessels. Adherence to such criteria,

with any additional requirements they may

contain, is intended to provide a level of safety

in line with that inherent in compliance with

the original MSC.285(86) provisions. In these

early days for gas-fuelled ships the only viable

approach for flag administrations is to consider

applications for a design review on a case-by-

case basis.

Under this permitting process, the prospective

owner of an LNG-powered ship provides the

regulatory authority with documentation such

as the vessel’s general arrangement, a layout of

the gas-fuelled system components and a list of

standards proposed for the system’s design. Details

also need to be supplied of how each provision of

the MSC.285(86) interim guidelines is to be met

and how any deviations are to be addressed.

This approach enables significant issues

to be identified early in the design phase

and facilitates the plan approval and vessel

certification processes. During construction, the

administration’s marine inspectors are on hand

to ensure that the ship is built in line with the

approved plans.

Two of the contentious ship design issues

that have occupied those charged with drafting

the IGF Code relate to the design concepts

for ensuring machinery space safety and the

placement of LNG bunker tanks.

The IMO interim guidelines provide two basic

design concepts for running a natural gas-based

fuel feed system in an engineroom. These are that

they should be inherently gas-safe or there should

be emergency shutdown (ESD) arrangements.

The machinery spaces of ships designed to

the inherently gas-safe concept are considered

to be gas-safe under all conditions. Natural gas

fuel piping within engineroom boundaries on

such ships is fitted in a gas-tight enclosure by

means of either double-walled pipe or single-

walled piping within a gas-tight duct. The space

between the inner and outer pipe/duct must be

either pressurised with inert gas or ventilated.

The machinery space is considered a non-

hazardous area and there are no restrictions on

electrical equipment installations.

On ships constructed to the ESD design

concept machinery spaces are considered gas-

safe under normal conditions but have the

potential to become gas-dangerous spaces

under certain abnormal conditions. This

concept allows single-walled piping inside

the engineroom without an external gas-tight

enclosure. Extraction ventilation, at the rate

of 30 air changes per hour, is used to prevent

the accumulation of flammable vapours within

the space. Should gas be detected at low

levels, all electrical equipment not certified

safe for hazardous locations is automatically

shut down.

The ESD concept was developed when engine

manufacturers had not yet engineered a proper

solution for fitting double-walled piping to the

fuel manifolds on internal combustion engines.

Technology improvements in more recent years

have ensured that this is no longer an issue for

the majority of engine sizes.

One of the challenges of the ESD concept

is that the approach relies heavily on active

safety measures such as gas detection sensors

and automation systems that translate sensor

signals into alarms and shutdowns. All these

components require monitoring, maintenance

and testing to ensure continuous efficacy.

To date, the availability of a double level

of protection for gas transmission systems in

machinery spaces has carried the day. All the

systems that have been accepted so far as

providing a level of safety equivalent to that

given by the existing regulations are of the

inherently gas-safe type.

The LNG bunker tank location debate

revolves around whether or not the placement

of such tanks below accommodation spaces,

service spaces and control stations should be

permitted. The issue is at its most divisive when

passenger vessels are under consideration.

IMO’s interim guidelines acknowledge the

fact that design constraints for certain types of

ship may not allow a well-defined area between

transverse watertight bulkheads to be set aside

for the exclusive use of LNG bunker tanks and

gas transfer equipment. MSC.285(86) does this

by providing several layers of protection to

further reduce the risk of fuel system failure

and to mitigate the hazards caused by a leak or

rupture in the fuel system. These include gas

detection with associated alarms and shutdowns,

continuous negative-pressure ventilation of the

tank room at 30 air changes per hour and liquid

level and temperature monitoring systems in the

tank room bilge.

In addition, by prohibiting the installation

of non-certified electrical equipment, the tank

room’s designation as a zone 1 hazardous space

is ensured. The use of cold-resistant material

for the tank room boundaries provides further

protection as does the thermal insulation

separating the room from the hull structure.

A number of class societies have considered

additional requirements for tanks under

accommodation areas on passenger vessels.

These include providing a cofferdam between

the tank compartment and adjacent machinery

or accommodation space and placing the fuel

tanks at a distance of B/5 from the hull, where B

is the vessel’s beam.

Bunker tank placement relative to other areas

on gas-fuelled ships will be an issue requiring

close scrutiny for future designs of such vessels.

Owners and regulators will need to not only

weigh up the various risks to the tank and their

consequences but also give consideration to the

measures taken to prevent or mitigate these

consequences. Another aspect that needs to be

considered in this respect is the design of the

vessel’s LNG bunker tank or tanks.

Amongst the other issues being addressed

by IMO delegates, including flag administration

representatives, during the finalising of the

IGF Code’s provisions are hazardous area

classifications, gas detection system certifications

and fire protection arrangements. The task

of developing a mandatory regulatory regime

for LNG-powered ships will be accompanied

by the equally rigorous work of ensuring its

proper implementation. Both shipowners and

regulators will derive benefit from beginning

their cooperation on a proposed design concept

at the earliest possible time. MP

Natural gas-based fuel feed systems in LNG-powered vessels use the gas-safe concept


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T he shale gas phenomenon in the US has

been a game changer for not only the

global gas industry but also operators

of US-flag vessels. A growing number of the

country’s shipping companies are preparing to

use the growing supplies of competitively priced,

clean-burning gas now becoming available to

fuel their ships and achieve unprecedented

reductions in vessel operating costs.

Natural gas is provided for use as a ship fuel

in the form of LNG and, despite the additional

costs associated with LNG-powered vessels,

including the newbuilding premium and the

specialist liquefaction plants and bunkering

arrangements required, the use of this new fossil

fuel is set to pay dividends.

As a result of the growing shale output from

deposits across the country, the US has regained

its title as the world’s largest producer of gas in

recent years. Nationwide gas production reached

2.2 trillion ft3 in August 2013, the highest

monthly total since 1973. According to the US

Energy Department, output in 2014 is expected

to average 71 billion ft3/day, or 1.1 per cent above

the 2013 figure.

US consumers are now paying approximately

US$4.25 per million Btu for their gas, about

one-third of the price pertaining in Europe and

under a quarter of that for gas delivered to Asia

as LNG. On a Btu basis natural gas in the USA,

after conversion to LNG, also costs less than both

heavy fuel oil and distillate oils such as diesel.

The other factor driving US interest in LNG

bunkering is the status of North America as

an IMO emission control area (ECA). Gas-

burning engines comply with all existing and

anticipated restrictions on emissions of harmful

atmospheric pollutants under both the ECA and

global sulphur cap regimes.

The dash for gas in the USA is helping solve the

classic chicken-and-egg dilemma that has slowed

acceptance of LNG as marine fuel in various parts

of the world. US shipowners are specifying the

LNG fuel option both for newbuildings and for

conversions of existing vessels, confident that the

necessary gas bunkering infrastructure will be in

place at the appointed time.

For their part, LNG suppliers are prepared to

invest in the necessary fuelling arrangements

to be part of an emerging shipping segment

in which owners are determined to make

significant savings in vessel running costs. Their

cause is being supported by a range of cryogenic

engineering companies that are currently

advancing the efficiencies and availability of

their small-scale liquefaction plant technology.

In addition it will be possible to load LNG for

bunkering purposes at some of the LNG export

terminals planned for the USA. Several such

facilities are existing import terminals which are

being provided with gas liquefaction trains to

enable the supply of LNG to both overseas and

local customers.

A recent survey by Zeus Development Corp

identified 42 LNG-powered vessels currently

under development or evaluation for service in

North America. The specified projects encompass

17 ferries, 12 tankers and bulk carriers, six

offshore service vessels, six container ships and

an articulated tug barge. The project portfolio

comprises 30 newbuilding vessels and 12 involving

converting the power plant on existing vessels.

Several ship newbuilding and conversion

projects are already underway. The most

advanced project features a series of six 5,250

Orders have been placed for the construction or conversion of 16 US-flag ships to run on LNG while final decisions for twice that number are imminent

by Mike Corkhill

US fast-tracks LNG-powered ships


Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines for installation on one of the six LNG-powered offshore support vessels building for Harvey Gulf

The two TOTE newbuildings will be world’s first purpose-built, LNG-propelled box ships

text


dwt offshore support vessel (OSV) newbuildings

under construction at the TY Offshore yard

in Gulfport, Mississippi, for Harvey Gulf

International Marine and operation in the Gulf

of Mexico. The first three will go on charter to

Shell and the entry into service of the lead ship,

Harvey Energy, was imminent as this issue went

to press. The vessel will be the first LNG-fuelled

vessel that is not an LNG carrier to be delivered

by a US shipbuilder and the first such vessel to

go into operation in the USA.

Harvey Gulf states that the US$55 million

newbuild cost for each of the STX Marine-designed

LNG-powered OSVs is about US$10 million more

than that of a similar-sized OSV running on

diesel fuel. However, the shipowner expects to

recoup the additional capital expenditure within

a relatively short period due to the savings in fuel

costs it will be able to achieve.

Each OSV is powered by a three 34DF Wärtsilä

engines and provided with a Wärtsilä LNGPac

fuelling system, the centrepiece of which is a

290m3 LNG bunker tank. While Chart supplied

the tanks for the first three ships in the Harvey

Gulf series from its Minnesota factory, Lockheed

Martin – the manufacturer of the external liquid

hydrogen and oxygen fuel tanks for the Space

Shuttle – has built the LNG fuel tanks for the

final three OSVs at its Michoud assembly plant

in Louisiana. The logistics involved in delivering

tanks from this facility to TY Offshore are much

less challenging than floating the units down

the length of the Mississippi River.

Lockheed Martin is also building the six

350m3 pressure vessel LNG storage tanks for the

bunkering facility that Harvey Gulf is building at its

Port Fourchon OSV vessel base in Louisiana. This

facility, which is due for completion later this year,

will be the first LNG bunkering station in the USA.

LNG-powered container ships are also set to

become part of the US shipping scene, thanks to

initiatives by Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE),

Crowley Maritime, Matson Navigation and Horizon

Lines. In addition to a pair of LNG-powered, 3,100

teu container ships ordered at the National Steel

and Shipbuilding Co (NASSCO) yard in California,

TOTE has also decided to convert two of its existing

ships, the Orca class roro cargo ships Midnight Sun

and North Star, to run on gas.

Due for delivery in 2015 and 2016, the TOTE

newbuildings will be world’s first purpose-built,

LNG-propelled container ships. The vessels will

be provided with MAN Diesel & Turbo’s new

low-speed, electronically controlled, gas-injection

(ME-GI) dual-fuel engines, another box ship

first. The engines will be fed by means of a fuel

gas supply system (FGSS) developed by Daewoo

Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME)

and its Shinhan Machinery affiliate. The Daewoo

FGSSs will feature ACD’s model MSP-SL high-

pressure pumps with gearbox assemblies and

electric 150kW inverter duty motors.

The ABS-classed container ships will run

between Jacksonville, Florida and San Juan,

Puerto Rico. TOTE has chosen Pivotal LNG, a joint

venture company launched by AGL Resources

and WesPac Midstream, to provide the LNG

bunker fuel that will be used to power the vessels.

The container ships will bunker at their home

port of Jacksonville, Florida and Pivotal LNG

will provide the LNG from a new, small-scale

liquefaction plant it plans to build in the port.

TOTE has contracted Wärtsilä to supply main

engines, generators and its LNGPac integrated LNG

storage and fuel gas handling systems for Midnight

Sun and North Star in what will be the largest

project yet mounted involving the conversion of

existing ships to run on LNG. The two 255m-long

vessels run between Tacoma in Washington

and Anchorage, Alaska. TOTE plans to have the

converted ships in service by 2015, although the

yard that will carry out the retrofit work had yet

to be chosen at the time of writing in early April.

Each of the vessels will be equipped with four

12-cylinder Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines and

generator sets. These engines are able to run

on either natural gas, low-sulphur diesel oil or


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heavy fuel oil. Each ship will also be provided

with two 1,100m3 LNG fuel bunker tanks and

the associated automation and fuel gas handling

systems as part of its Wärtsilä LNGPac package.

Crowley Maritime has entered the gas

propulsion system arena with an order for two

LNG-powered roro container ships (con-ros) at VT

Halter Marine. The vessels, each of which will be

able to carry approximately 2,400 TEU and nearly

400 vehicles at speeds of up to 22 knots, will be

deployed on routes connecting the US mainland

to Puerto Rico on delivery in the second and fourth

quarters of 2017. The pair are the first LNG-fuelled

vessels of the con-ro type to be ordered.

Crowley reports that the ships, to be part of

its new Commitment Class and named El Coqui

and Taino, will replace the towed triple-deck barge

fleet it has used to link the US mainland and

Puerto Rico since the 1970s. The new vessels will

be propelled by dual-fuel engines of the ME-GI,

low-speed type supplied by MAN Diesel & Turbo.

Jacksonville is also Crowley’s home port and the

vessels will be bunkered at this location.

Crowley was assisted in the vessel design phase

by Jensen Maritime, its Seattle-based marine

engineering subsidiary, and Wärtsilä Ship Design.

In early 2013 the Florida-based shipowner acquired

Carib Energy and established Crowley LNG as a

new subsidiary. Last year Crowley also ordered four

‘LNG-ready’ product tankers, designed to be able

to run on LNG at some future date.

Matson Navigation, a US West Coast operator,

has ordered two 3,600 teu container ships, each

of which will be powered by an MAN B&W

7S90ME-GI dual-fuel gas-injection engine. The

deal includes an option for three further vessels

of this type. Each low-speed engine will develop

42.7MW, making them the largest dual-fuel

engines ever ordered in terms of power output.

The new Matson container ships will be

constructed by Aker Philadelphia Shipyard

at an aggregate cost of US$418 million and

are scheduled for delivery in the third and

fourth quarters of 2018. Matson reports that

the 260m-long vessels will be the largest Jones

Act container ships ever constructed and are

designed to operate at speeds in excess of 23

knots. The first of this Aloha Class pair will be

named after the late US senator Daniel K Inouye,

who championed the US maritime industry and

its role in supporting Hawaii’s economy. Both

the Crowley Maritime and Matson Navigation

newbuildings will be classed with DNV GL.

Horizon Lines has received permission from

the US Coast Guard to send a further four of its

older, steam turbine-driven, Jones Act container

ships to a foreign shipyard for the conversion

of their propulsion systems to enable running

on LNG. The shipowner had earlier been given

a similar clearance to have two of its 1987-

built ships, Horizon Spirit and Horizon Reliance,

modified at an overseas yard. Horizon is yet

to choose where the work will be done and is

evaluating tenders from both domestic and

overseas yards.

The intention is to provide each ship with

medium speed, dual-fuel engines and two 1,000m3

LNG fuel tanks. Repowering of the first vessel will

commence in January 2015 and the conversion

work on both ships will be completed by late 2015

or early 2016. The shipowner has engaged MAN to

conduct preliminary engineering, consulting and

design work related to the proposed conversion

project. Horizon operates a fleet of 13 US-built,

Jones Act vessels linking the US mainland with

Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico.

The 16 ships described above represent the

US-flag LNG-powered vessel newbuilding and

conversion projects that are currently underway.

As the Zeus Development study highlighted,

shipowners are close to final investment decisions

on another 26 such vessels and in the few weeks

since the report was published, further LNG-

fuelled ship proposals have been tabled.

The USA has made a relatively late

commitment to LNG as marine fuel, and trails

Northern Europe in terms of both bunkering

infrastructure and the number of LNG-fuelled

ships. However, the US sector is developing

quickly and the country’s LNG bunker fuel

consumption is likely to be rivalling Europe’s

later in the decade. MP

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ad-3-4-stage-2012.pdf 31/05/2012 10:44:16


B ack in 1917 when the World War I was at

its height, Winston Churchill – who was

then the British Minister of Munitions

– had a problem. As British troops moved across

mainland Europe they needed fuel and water. But

with no friendly suppliers to call on, he needed to

be able to deliver these vital elements by pipeline.

Churchill’s specification was demanding: it

had to be possible to lay these pipelines quickly

and, if the tanks and troops had to retreat,

they had to be dismantled and taken away.

He gave the problem to the Royal Engineers, a

corps of the British Army, which devised a way

of connecting pipes with bolted mechanical

couplings that could be joined and dismantled

using just a few readily-available tools.

It took them until 1919 – after the war was

over – to meet Churchill’s specification. That year

one of those engineers, Ernest Tribe, founded

the Victory Pipe Joint Co, which joined with the

War Department and coined the name Victory

Hydraulics, or Victaulic, for its collaborative

effort to create mechanical joining techniques.

The couplings later played a vital role in

World War II following the 1944 D-Day landings.

A fuel supply line was laid under the English

Channel – dubbed the pipeline under the ocean,

or Pluto – constructed using Victaulic couplings.

Speaking to Marine Propulsion during the

Kormarine exhibition, the company’s vice

president Didier Vassal cited the Korean War

in the early 1950s as another military example,

when all the piping to help the US Army and

its allies was installed using Victaulic couplings.

Their civilian use spread across the British

Commonwealth, to countries including Palestine,

Egypt and India. Some early Victaulic couplings

are still in service: examples dating back to 1921

can be found in London, where the pipes they

connect once carried water but now protect cables

as part of the city’s modern infrastructure.

Those original couplings featured a grooved

ring that was mounted on the outside of the pipe.

It was in 1925 that the familiar grooved pipe

concept was developed and a US licence was sold

to Frederick Bedford, who could see its potential

for laying water pipes to oil wells. He established

the Victaulic Company of America and did a lot of

work for John D Rockefeller’s Standard Oil.

Victaulic couplings were also installed on the

US-built Liberty Ships during World War II. One

surviving vessel, John W Brown, still sails regularly.

Mr Vassal was on board last autumn and saw its

original Victaulic ballast pipe couplings that had

been fitted in 1942. “They never leaked,” he said.

In the UK, major yards including Harland

and Wolff, Cammell Laird and Swan Hunter

used Victaulic connectors from the late 1920s. Mr

Vassal, who takes a keen interest in researching the

product’s history, recently had a chance meeting

with a retired Swan Hunter engineer who has been

able to provide details of many of that yard’s ships

that had been fitted with Victaulic couplings.

More recently, high-profile land-based projects

have generated business, including London’s Shard

– which is the tallest building in the EU – and the

world’s tallest building, Dubai’s 830m Burj Khalifa.

Four years ago, however, the company

relaunched its maritime business. Many engine

manufacturers and other equipment makers have

adopted Victaulic’s products, and they are also

proving popular for ballast water treatment systems.

Victaulic’s technology has not changed much

since its development nearly a century ago, but

it still finds new applications to address current

technical developments. “I had no idea there

would be such a fantastic synergy,” Mr Vassal

said. “It is quite fun.” MP

Victaulic couplings were used under London’s streets after World War I (photo: Victaulic)

Quick system launched for small pipes

history

Victaulic’s technology may have a long history

(see above) but it has recently developed a

new joining system for small pipes, Vic-Press.

Unlike the company’s established system,

which uses grooved pipes, this uses off-the-

shelf stainless steel pipes that engineers can

readily source.

To make the joint, pipes are cut to

length and de-burred and then inserted

into a Vic-Press coupling or fitting, which

contains a pre-lubricated gasket. A hand-

held tool presses this onto the pipe to form a

permanent leak-tight joint. Victaulic has also

developed technology to identify any joints

that have not been pressed as the system is

filled and tested.

The system is suitable for air, fuel and water

supply lines and can be used in combination

with the standard Victaulic grooved joining

system. It has been type-approved by a

number of class societies, including Lloyd’s

Register, Germanischer Lloyd, DNV and ABS.

V for VictaulicA World War I pipe joining system still solves problems today


CIMAC at Marintec

C hairing the International Council

on Combustion Engines (CIMAC)

seminar in Shanghai, Stefan Müller,

director of the marine application centre at

MTU Friedrichshafen, clarified the event’s title:

‘Integrated marine systems for the future’.

It referred to propulsion systems but, in his

introduction, he made it clear that its impact

was wider than that. “Global trade will continue

to grow significantly with a need for competitive

and efficient transport solutions that increase

energy efficiency and reduce harmful emissions,”

he said. “For engine manufacturers, this means

reducing emissions and increasing efficiency of

engines. In-engine solutions include addressing

combustion systems, injection systems,

electronics, exhaust gas recirculation and so on.

Taking a broader approach involves addressing

fuels, after treatment, heat recovery, combined

and hybrid systems.”

He said that managing technology also

includes reliability and availability. Holistic

approaches must also consider that system scope

and complexity will increase to fulfil efficiency

and environmental requirements. The industry

will need qualified personnel, and automation

will gain relevance.

Giving a class society perspective Zhongmin

Yang, director of China Classification Society’s

Shanghai Rules and Research Institute, said

that suppliers have to respond to IMO emissions

regulations on SOx, NOx and CO2. “This has

an impact on the technical development of

marine diesel engines, including development

of EGR, SCR and alternative fuels, as well as

increased efficiency.”

Prof Yang commented that the role of class

is responding to this challenge by developing

rules and technical standards, energy efficiency

management systems incorporating technical

research, application of results and the

integration of information. “This should lead

to optimised design, verification of product

performance and assist shipowners,” he said.

Considering future challenges in more

technical detail, Karl Wojik, vice-president at

engine supplier AVL List in Austria asserted:

“System efficiency is the next big challenge for

propulsion system technology.” He described

current challenges as meeting low NOx and low

sulphur requirements, for which solutions are

being developed. “Tomorrow’s challenge is high

energy efficiency for which there is a need to look

beyond the engine. Key elements of integration

include waste heat recovery (WHR), optimum

plant layout, fuel and lube cooling systems, and

the development of different configurations of

hybrid systems.” WHR involves combined steam

and power turbine driven generators adapted for

utilisation of exhaust gas.

Mr Wojik said that there is a need for

the right tools to optimise systems, including

model-based development using simulators

for engines, transmissions, batteries, electric

motors, inverters and control strategies. He

cited his company’s Cruise-M – a control system

development for the main engine – and EPOS – a

condition monitoring model-based development.

“This leads to optimum route planning, reduced

fuel consumption, lower emissions, and lower

operating costs. System optimisation is a great

opportunity for the future.” Mr Wojik later

expanded on his remarks exclusively for Marine

Propulsion; see Powertalk, in the last issue.

Willie Wagen, director of ship power at

Wärtsilä Propulsion in Norway, talked about

innovation. “Shipping will have a range of

more sustainable fuels in the future – wind,

fuel cells, solar, carbon capture, and others.

Flexibility is needed.”

He said: “Total efficiency is the key.

Optimised vessel design, operations efficiency,

hybrid machinery and distribution and energy

storage will be increasingly important. There

is a need to design ships [that are] optimised

for their intended operation. The tool box

to achieve this includes flexibility in fuels,

energy saving, propulsion train design and

smarter equipment and ships. Older ships will

become obsolete or inefficient. It is a matter of

adapting technology for marine applications,

not re-inventing the wheel.”

Maximising a vessel’s total efficiency will

reduce its consumption of fuel and other

resources, as well as emissions. Its design

and operation should be aimed at minimising

the energy required to accomplish its desired

mission and the energy on board the vessel

should be generated in an efficient manner and

optimised for the prevailing conditions and the

vessel’s task. Energy losses will be effectively

avoided or recovered, using optimised vessel

design, operation support, hybrid machinery

and distribution, and energy storage.

Mr Wagen said: “By applying available

technologies to shipping, the industry’s

environmental impact can be considerably

lowered. In the vessels of the future all emission

streams will be minimised. This clearly reduces

the environmental impact of shipping even

when shipping volumes become considerably

higher than they are today.”

He commented that such fleet optimisation

rewards the total value chain. “Fleet optimisation

guides the vessel design and the effective use of

the operator’s fleet. This ensures competitiveness,

efficient operations and excellent environmental

performance, with an optimal combination of

fleet size, vessel size and speed.”

The main opportunities from this trend

include more advanced newbuildings and huge

retrofit opportunities. Against this are the

challenges posed by the availability of fuels,

available infrastructure and development of the

necessary technology.

JuSeong Han, of Hyundai Engine and

Integration as a crucial feature on improving the efficiency of marine propulsion systems was the key theme of a seminar organised by CIMAC at the Marintec event in Shanghai in early December.

Driving system integration is key to efficiency

Stefan Müller of MTU Friedrichshafen chaired the CIMAC seminar in Shanghai


Machinery Division in South Korea, backed LNG

fuel as the best common solution for addressing

all the environmental and efficiency challenges.

He highlighted the two main options for LNG

propulsion systems – low pressure using a pump

and vaporiser, or a high pressure system. There

are also several LNG tank options available, with

development work continuing on LNG tank

design and location onboard. “Owners need to

look at the whole system design including the

vessel’s operating profile,” he said.

Christoph Rofka, senior general manager

at ABB Turbo Systems, outlined the benefits

of enhancing the performance of engines

using two technologies. “Although two-stage

turbocharging is not new technology, it is new

for marine applications,” he said.

Developing this for marine engines involves

model development, with a doubling of pressure

ratios up to 12 compared with single-stage

turbocharging. This results in higher efficiency

by more than 75 per cent and more compact

two-stage systems can be developed. He also

highlighted the use of advanced variable valve

trains, featuring individual valve control for

closing, opening and lift height. Valves feature

steep closing flanks, but with no increase in

mechanical load. Variation from cycle to cycle

replaces conventional control elements.

“These technologies can be used in

combination to enhance performance of

medium speed diesels by up to 5-7 per cent

with higher pressure ratios. For gas engines the

potential is up to 10 per cent efficiency gain,”

Mr Rofka indicated.

Further potential performance gains involved

engine integration, standardisation and service-

friendly designs such as integrated two-stage

turbochargers, gas engines with diesel-like

flexibility, improved diesel mode for dual-fuel

engines and use of different operating modes.

Yasuhiro Itoh, managing director Niigata

Power Systems in Japan, focused on hybrid

propulsion systems, using an actual example of

two tugs being operated in Japan by Tokyo Kisen

in Yokohama. He pointed out that tugs require

high powered engines but for 75 per cent of the

time they operate at less than 20 per cent load

resulting in energy being wasted.

“Our idea is for main engine shutdown at

low loads, using lithium ion batteries instead

that can be re-charged while alongside the pier.

Another option is a hybrid solution without

batteries, using auxiliaries instead of the main

engine when operating at low loads.”

He described the first hybrid tug in Japan

that went into service in March 2013, the

Tsubasa, with a plug-in hybrid propulsion

system using a battery. This system saves 32

per cent in fuel consumption. In October 2013

another tug, the Ginga, went into service using a

hybrid system without batteries. “The challenge

is balancing the higher initial cost of these

systems, especially the battery, with the savings

in operation,” Mr Itoh said. The hybrid system

currently costs about 40 per cent more than a

conventional propulsion system, he said.

In answer to a question as to who should be

the driver for such developments, engine makers

or shipowners, Mr Itoh said that for these tugs

Niigata supplied the engines and propeller using

an integrated system it developed. “But there is

also an important driver from co-operation with

owners. It does not have to be the enginebuilder

who is the driver.”

In tests, Niigata simulated the system and

achieved a 20 per cent saving, but he said that

actual savings in operation are 30 per cent. “The

tug captain wanted to use the battery for as long

as possible and used it for more than expected

and more than it was used in the simulation, so

the operator involvement is also significant in

optimising performance.”

He said that on hybrid propulsion systems,

benefits from energy saving and emission

reduction have been verified. But maximising

the impact of hybrid propulsion with fuel and

emission reduction depends on the actual

operating engine load pattern. For example,

Mr Itoh suggested, hybrid propulsion could

be applied to ships operating for long periods

under low load or idle speed and ships for which

rapid loads are required – such as tugs, offshore

support vessels and some ferries operating short

distance shuttle services.

For compliance with IMO Tier III, batteries

can be used in emissions control areas, with gas

engines driving generators. In the future, the

batteries could be recharged using renewable

energy, such as wind, solar and tidal power.

Summarising the presentations Mr Müller

said that they demonstrated there is still more

potential for internal engine optimisation. “New

solutions include gas engines and hybrid systems

and operational aspects are also important.”

He raised the issue of rules for exhaust

gas after-treatment systems and the need to

monitor actual performance. “Class societies are

still developing rules for after-treatment. Where

rules have been developed they are mainly

focused on safety aspects due to the chemicals

involved, rather than performance.”

Mr Wojik referred to WHR systems,

commenting that there is a trade-off between the

system cost and the fuel savings for each vessel,

which would depend on its operating profile. Mr

Rofke stressed: “We do not see that it is possible to

meet upcoming emission regulations by internal

engine modifications alone. We are seeking to

optimise performance and reduce emissions, but

this will also need external measures such as

exhaust gas treatment systems.

He expressed concern that, with new systems,

exhaust gas temperatures are getting lower and

the requirement for exhaust gas to produce

steam to heat the fuel will not be met and hence

a requirement for an additional steam boiler. “So

there is a need for all the consequences of such

developments to be considered, he said.”

Mr Wagen suggested that battery prices

will reduce in the future and their capacity

will increase. “We will see increased use

of batteries and energy storage, even on

conventional vessels.” MP

Karl Wojik (AVL List): System efficiency is the next big challenge

The CIMAC panel in Shanghai debated integration of propulsion systems


W ith increasing pressure on

costs, recent trends have

been towards more integrated

power generation systems using shaft

generators in place of more traditional

auxiliary generating sets, typically driven

by constant-speed, four-stroke engines.

These gensets require space for installation

and generally run on marine diesel fuel

rather than lower cost heavy fuel oil. As a

result, shaft generator systems have become

more common, taking power from the main

propulsion train to generate electricity to

supply ship electrical loads.

Shaft generator systems are typically

based on synchronous generators with

electrical excitation, mechanically driven

from the main propeller shaft and feeding

power into the ship electrical system either

directly or through a frequency converter.

In many cases a gearbox will be required

in the drive system, introducing its own

losses. Alternatively, a direct connection can

Drive towards better shaft generators

generators and switchgear

Frequency control equipment comes as an integrated part of the permanent magnet generator package (credit: The Switch)

Lloyd’s Register has completed a General

Design Appraisal for the Dutch company

Eaton Industies’ Power Xpert UX range of

switchgear, confirming that the range meets

all requirements for application in ships and

other offshore facilities. The company began

processing orders for marine applications

within weeks of approval being granted.

“The marine and offshore sectors are

very important to us, and we’re delighted

we now have approvals that will allow our

customers in these sectors to enjoy the

benefits offered by one of our most popular

ranges of MV switchgear,” said Mostapha

Azzahimi, product manager for medium

voltage systems at Eaton.

All Power Xpert UX switchgear is now

type-tested to the latest IEC 62271-200

standards, with marine build versions having

undergone additional testing including for

resistance to damp heat, dry heat and cold.

Inclination and vibration tests have also been

successfully carried out. Products are also

constructed with earthed metal partitions

that fully segregate all major compartments.

Type UX switchgear is equipped with Eaton’s

latest range of IEC vacuum circuit breakers

type W-VACi, which have also been type-

tested to the same standards.

The innovative design of Eaton’s UX

switchgear originated from the earlier Unitole

products which have been in service for

over 40 years. The withdrawable vacuum-

operated breakers are air insulated and

available at ratings of up to 4,000A. Eaton has

adopted a policy of using environmentally-

friendly technology and materials and the

UX therefore avoids the use of potentially

harmful SF6 gas insulation. Its construction

is modular, allowing flexibility in panel

combinations, and multiple panels can be

used in installations.

At the heart of switchgear cabinet are the

busbar and circuit breaker compartments.

Busbars are totally enclosed in an earthed

metal compartment which vents upwards

into the arc chamber at the top of the

cabinet. This chamber can be extended

if required and connections can also be

provided for venting gases outside the

switchgear room. The busbars themselves

are fully insulated along their entire length

and tested for ratings up to 4,000A and

50,000A for 3 seconds.

Lloyd’s Register approves medium voltage switchgear for marine use

Permanent magnet generator technology offers benefits for marine applications


be made but the generator itself must be

designed to run at low speeds, necessitating

it being larger in size.

Although direct connection systems avoid

gearbox losses, low-speed electrically-excited

synchronous shaft generators are likely to

operate at lower efficiencies than their high

speed equivalents. Considering further losses

in power electronics, the overall efficiency,

comparing shaft power with electrical power,

can drop to below 90 per cent. Having

undergone considerable development in recent

years, permanent magnet (PM) generators

now present a practical alternative, with

higher power ratings now being possible. The

technology is also capable of efficient low

speed operation, allowing application to low

speed drivetrains without the necessity of an

up-speeding gearbox.

The absence of field windings and

associated losses provides PM generators

with advantages of efficiency, low weight

and simplified construction. Finnish

company The Switch points out that a typical

electrically excited shaft generator has rotor

field winding losses of up to 3 per cent of its

input power and these do not exist in a PM

generator. Stator losses are also lower, as the

generator operates at a higher power factor,

with resultant lower stator current and hence

lower resistive losses.

The Switch, which specialises in

PM machinery, estimates that a typical

electrically-excited shaft generator connected

to a low speed two-stroke diesel engine will

deliver a conversion efficiency of 93 to 94

per cent whereas a PM generator running in

equivalent conditions will deliver efficiencies

up to 96 or even 97 per cent. A consequential

advantage of this higher efficiency is the

reduction in cooling capacity required,

reducing loads on cooling water circuits or

air flow requirements.

A further benefit of the PM generator

concept is its simpler mechanical

construction. As it requires no separate

excitation, there is no exciter assembly – a

small generator in itself – in the machine

construction. By comparison, synchronous

generators often require an external power

source although installations required to

start without external power can be fitted

with a small, permanent magnet generator,

which adds to the complexity of the machine.

Without the need for these components,

and associated control electronics and diode

packs, the PM generator is far simpler and

less reliant on auxiliary systems, which can

also be prone to failure and will require

periodic maintenance.

Rotor construction of PM generators

is also more simple than their traditional

counterparts. In the case of The Switch

products, the rotor is a simple hollow steel

cylinder with magnets fixed to its surface.

The yoke thickness is typically 30 to 50mm,

with magnet thickness in the range of 15 to

20mm. The resultant rotor inertia is therefore

low, due to the compact nature and low

weight of the rotating element.

In offering a comparison, The Switch

indicates that, for a 1.5MW rated generator,

the shaft weight of a PM design could

be as low at 2 tonnes, compared with 6

tonnes for an electrically-excited generator.

In addition, rotor inertia, of the order of 600

kgm2, is also almost an order of magnitude

less than that of a conventional rotor. This

provides further benefits as, for rotating

equipment, the dynamics and vibration

characteristics of shafts are often critical to

operation. Hence, low mass and inertia are

desirable characteristics.

With PM generators already well

established in high-power industrial

applications, The Switch sees the technology

becoming more significant to marine

propulsion applications but notes that the

machines have yet to make a breakthrough

in ship power generation, where traditional

electrically-excited synchronous generators

are still the most popular option. The

company anticipates this will change,

however, and already offers a range of low,

medium and high speed PM generators with

power outputs up to 6.3MW. MP

Permanent magnet generators provide a flexible and more

efficient alternative to conventional generators (credit: The Switch)

The vacuum circuit breaker compartment

is fully segregated from other areas and

has its own pressure relief channel leading

into the arc chamber. The breaker can

be operated manually, if required, by

push buttons mounted on the front of

the cabinet with the doors remaining fully

closed. Mechanical interlocks prevent the

compartment door being opened until the

circuit breaker is switched off and placed into

the test position. As a further safety feature,

individually operated automatic earthed

metal shutters for line busbar and outgoing

cable connections can be padlocked in

their closed positions. If the breaker is

moved to either the test or disconnect

position, these shutters close automatically

to prevent accidental operator contact with

live sections.

Eaton’s vacuum circuit breakers are

constructed with fixed and moveable

contacts housed in a ceramic cylinder with

actuation by bellows. Contacts are shielded

against contamination from metal deposition

caused by vapours produced when the

breaker operates. The design also results

in a large number of parallel arcs being

created when contacts operate, resulting in

low arc voltages, short arc ties and resultant

low energy dissipation. This limits contact

wear and reduces maintenance, with Eaton

certifying the equipment for up to 30,000

operating cycles.

The cabinet includes an earth switch that

is operated from the front of the switchgear

and mechanical indicators are provided

to show the switch position, along with

a window being incorporated to allow a

direct view of the mechanism. Mechanical

interlocks with the circuit breaker are

incorporated such that the switch can only

be closed when the breaker is in the test

or disconnect position and the circuit earth

switch can be mechanically interlocked

with the cable compartment door, providing

further safety protection.

The lower sections of the cabinet house

current and voltage transformers, cable

terminations and the earth bar whilst the low

voltage panel is mounted at a convenient

height for operators, on the front of the

cabinet, above the main breaker panel.

Eaton Industries Power Xpert UX MV switchgear has passed its General Design Appraisal by Lloyd’s Register (credit: Eaton Industries)



ABB ship-to-shore electrical power system connects in minutes

Short circuit constraint and reactions are key requirementsSchneider Electric has developed the loop power distribution topology for high voltage ship systems. The French company’s vice president for business development in the marine sector Edouard Coste said it has supplied these systems to automation and power distribution suppliers for specific vessel newbuilding projects.

“The loop distribution system includes higher redundancy, and improves the energy efficiency on ships. If there is a failure in the system, then the power supply is not disrupted as it is a ring network. It is more efficient because there are less cabling and lower power losses,” he explained. Schneider Electric’s loop distribution systems have been installed on Norwegian Cruise Line and Aida Cruise ships.

The loop network consists of several substation/ring main units (RM6), voltage switch-disconnectors that ensure the closing and opening of the loop and circuit breakers and fuse-switch combinations that protect transformers and other electronics. The RM6 switchgear cubicles provide rapid cable connections, enabling the connection, supply and protection of transformers to an open ring network.

Schneider Electric’s marine segment manager Jack Hawkins said the main benefit of the system is about speed of recovery after a short circuit. “The faster you can intervene, the best it is to save the equipment and have reliable and safe operations. The higher the short circuit level is, the more difficult it is to cut it.”

Another innovation from Schneider Electric is the ultra-fast breakers for low voltage systems. These enable vessels to sustain higher short-circuit current constraints, which means their power systems do not have to be increased to medium voltage levels. Mr Coste said this means shipowners do not have to employ dedicated crew on board these vessels to maintain the power distribution system. “We have added ultra-fast breakers that start to operate in less than 0.5ms and clear faults in less than 8ms. The peak fault current is limited by 40 per cent. We have sold this to offshore support vessel operators who have saved on their operating expenditures because of using the low voltage systems.”

ABB is supplying a complete ship to shore (S2S)

power system to the ropax ferry, SuperSpeed1.

Operated by Color Line and built by Aker

Finnyards, the vessel has already seen more than

five years of operation between Kristiansand and

Hitshals and will the third Color Line vessel to

be equipped with the S2S system, following on

from Color Magic and Color Fantasy.

Engine emissions in port have come into

greater focus in recent years and interest in

cold ironing – taking power from an onshore

supply – has increased considerably. With vessels

requiring different powers and supply voltages,

there are difficulties to be overcome but ABB

has developed a range of solutions that can be

applied to different vessel types. The S2S system

enables equipment to be installed onboard to

automatically control synchronisation of the

shore power supply with ship power and allow a

smooth changeover without loss of power to any

of the onboard facilities. Transfer of power from

ship generators to the onshore supply can be

achieved in minutes, ABB reported.

The scope of equipment includes the

connection switchboard, an onboard transformer

and low voltage receiving switchboard. In the

SuperSpeed1, connection systems will be included

to enable the high voltage onshore 11kV

switchboard in Kristiansand, Norway to feed

into the ferry’s low voltage 690 V system during

its stay in port. The ABB system complies fully

with IEC, ISO and IEEE standards.

Using an onshore electrical power supply

means that local ship emissions of CO2, NOx

and SOx are virtually eliminated. The practice

also results in vessel fuel consumption being

reduced significantly, providing cost savings to

operators. This is particularly so in cases where

ships generators would otherwise be working ›››

ABB provides full ship-to-shore connection systems, which are integrated with the vessel's electrical power requirements (credit: ABB)

SuperSpeed1 will be the third Color Line vessel equipped with the ABB S2S system, following Color Magic and Color Fantasy (credit: ABB)

Complete onboard system including HV shore connection

panel and cable drum

Power outlet 6,6 kv/1kv

HV underground cable (distance 1–5km)

Shoreside transformer kiosk

Sub-station (incl. 50/60 Hz converter)

Plug in to green power

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MarinePropulsion_GB_April_46437p.indd 1 4/22/14 2:36 PM



››› at low powers, and hence reduced

efficiencies, as a result of low port power

requirements. “We are providing energy-efficient

solutions to a ferry line that connects key

locations,” said Heikki Soljama, head of ABB’s

marine and cranes business unit.

ABB offers a range of transformers,

switchgear and frequency converters for S2S

power applications in addition to standard

ship power generation and distribution system

equipment. This includes UniGear ZS1 medium

voltage switchgear which is a marine version of

ABB’s air-insulated switchgear and installed in

ships and other offshore facilities worldwide.

The range is said to comply with the most

rigorous international standards, including

IEC 62271-200, and equipment is also certified

by the major class societies. Ratings are

available up to 12kV and 4,000A.

ABB’s range of dry type transformers is also

available for shipboard applications at low and

medium voltages. Suitable for S2S power, they

are popular for use in propulsion systems. A

recent example of this is an order taken in 2013

for 24 of these transformers for propulsion duty,

rated at 2,300 kVA and 480V. These are to be

installed in 12 diesel-electric powered offshore

platform supply vessels being built by Fujian

Mawei Shipbuilding in China.

Further products adding to the flexibility

of ABB’s S2S system include the PCS100

static frequency converter range. These enable

the connection of 60Hz equipment to a 50Hz

power supply or vice versa. With voltages also

converted to match load requirements, the S2S

system therefore offers the flexibility of onshore

power supply connection to service ship loads

in almost any global location with dockside

power connection facilities.

For more traditional ship power

requirements, the ABB portfolio also includes

certified marine switchgear and a range of

high voltage generators, these being custom

designed as diesel generating sets or for

operation as shaft power take-off generators.

Power outputs are up to 50 MVA at either

50Hz or 60Hz frequencies and at voltages of

up to 15kV. At present, over 1,700 ABB high

voltage synchronous generators are operating

on a wide range of vessel types. The generators

use the ABB shunt boost excitation system,

taking power from the line voltage through a

transformer with a permanent magnet exciter

to ensure secure voltage build up.

Aggreko gains RINA certificationAggreko is well established as a major supplier of

temporary site power for land-based and industrial

applications, ranging from grid support to

emergency power. It has over 50 years’ experience

in rental power and has been prominent in the

development of temporary power solutions for

shipyards and for sea going vessels.

To support its marine market operations,

Aggreko has recently gained certification

from RINA Services for the application of its

generators for temporary marine use. This

confirms that temporary installations from

Aggreko will meet necessary Solas rules for

onboard use and make it easier to demonstrate

compliance with safety requirements.

“The RINA approval certificate on an Aggreko

generator ensures compliance with onboard

safety requirements, said Pino Spadafora,

area manager for RINA Services. Speaking

for Aggreko, Maarten Martens, its business

development manager for continental Europe,

said: “This process will ensure faster and simpler

delivery of containerised diesel power generators

for planned or emergency projects.”

First marine contract for permanent magnet specialistPermanent magnet electrical generator

technology is not a new concept but, in recent

years, significant steps have been made in its

development. Applications can be seen in a

range of industries, including the expanding

wind power sector.

In January 2014, however, The Switch,

based in Vantaa, Finland, signed a contract

with WE Tech Solutions of Vaasa, to supply

four direct-drive 1.5MW permanent magnet

(PM) marine shaft generators, marking The

Switch’s first move into the marine sector.

The generators will be coupled with WE Tech

Solutions’ WE Drive system which is based on

variable speed drive technology, removing the

constraint of constant shaft speeds required

for conventional generator technology.

The Switch already supplies a range

of PM generators, motors and frequency

management systems to industrial users and

the technology is said to operate reliably in

harsh environments. The machines have

high power densities, which is attractive for

shipboard applications where installation

space is limited. Combined with the WE

Drive system, this new technology is expected

to provide increased flexibility for marine

operators combined with lower operating costs

for ship electrical networks.

Deliveries of this latest order will

commence towards the end of 2014 with

WE Tech supplying the generators and drive

systems to Tianjin Xingang Shipbuilding

Heavy Industry Co in China. They will be

installed in four post-Panamax car carriers

ordered by Wallenius Lines, with deliveries

scheduled for 2015 and 2016.

“Over the past three decades, the shaft

generator has been successfully employed on

board ships worldwide. The main advantage

is to allow main engines to use cheaper

heavy fuel oil (HFO) for electrical power

production, thereby significantly reducing

the running hours of auxiliary generators,”

explained Mårten Storbacka, managing

director of WE Tech Solutions. By combining

the variable frequency WE Drive with the PM

shaft generator, the ship’s electrical power

is generated with the same high efficiency

throughout the full speed range of the main

engine, he said, which is especially important

in electrical part loads. In addition, the WE

Drive also provides 1MW of boost power

directly to the propeller shaft to support the

main engine when required, which he said

enables a low-load optimised main engine.

“These orders show the real need for

new solutions to help seagoing vessels

significantly lower the costs of operations,

reduce maintenance needs and meet the

increasingly stringent emission regulations,”

said Mika Koli, business development

manager at The Switch. MP

Aggreko has received certification for its generators to be used for temporary marine use

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Images courtesy of Bakker Sliedrecht

|

1800_Marine Advert.indd 1 24/07/2012 12:01


I n three years’ time, the azimuthing thruster

will celebrate its golden jubilee in oceangoing

service, celebrating the installation in 1967

of two 342kW Schottel Rudderpropellers in the

tug Janus, bringing the device out of the inland

waterways by giving it a higher powered role.

But they date from 1950, since their

invention by Josef Becker, the founder of

German propulsion specialist Schottel. The first

versions were not installed in the hull in any

conventional way but were fitted on inland

vessels as an oversize outboard motor similar to

the company’s modern Navigator units.

A demonstration of the manoeuvrability

conferred by thrusters will be on show in

Hamburg in June this year at the ITS 2014 Tug,

Salvage & OSV Convention and Exhibition

when a number of tugs fitted with Schottel

thrusters will perform a ‘ballet’ in Hamburg

harbour as a finale to the convention.

Schottel will also be showcasing the latest

version of the Schottel Rudderpropeller at

the exhibition.

Today the basic concept and technology has

been adapted and improved by Schottel and

several other system makers and can be found

on an increasing number of ships of all types.

Over the years since the initial thruster was

built by Schottel, tugs and small ferries have

been joined by offshore ships and rigs as vessels

where the azimuthing thruster propulsion

system is preferred over the more conventional

propeller and rudder of other ship types.

Soon it could even be claimed that the

largest vessel in the world relies on thrusters

as the 488m FLNG Prelude now under

construction at Samsung’s yard in Geoje,

South Korea, will be fitted with three of them

as its sole means of self-propulsion. But its

thrusters are not intended to move it around

the ocean. Having no main engine of its own,

Prelude will be towed between employments

and its trio of thrusters are there for precise

and accurate manoeuvring into position

before the risers are connected.

Modern thrusters come in many forms; the

original rudderpropeller type with its Z-drive

operation is still around in large numbers but

the simple L-drive is more frequently used

and the permanently-outside thruster has

been joined by retractable and swing-up types

that are taken inside the hull when not in use

so as to reduce drag. Some thrusters are fixed,

some push and others pull. Podded propulsion

systems are thrusters where even the motor is

moved outside of the hull.

But it is the tunnel thruster that is the

most common and found on every type of

ship. Some manufacturers have developed

products that can perform as both a tunnel

thruster and an azimuthing thruster. In these

Azimuth thrusters have established a wide role during nearly half a century at sea

by Malcolm Latarche

thrusters

Thrusting towards a half century of service

With hybrid power systems being very much

a matter of debate for many ship types, it

seems somehow appropriate that for Schottel,

a pioneer of thruster development, the first

application for the new thruster it will be

showcasing at the ITS 2014 Tug, Salvage &

OSV Convention and Exhibition in Hamburg

later this year will be in a hybrid tug.

The new thrusters are a variant of the

company’s Rudderpropeller series SRP 3000

and 4000 and feature power-take-in (PTI). The

tug is the first in the ‘Efficient Double-ended

DYnamic’ (EDDY) tug and workboat series and

is being built by Holland Shipyards to a concept

design developed by Baldo Dielen Associates.

More specifically, the tug is a 30-65 type with

the numbers signifying a length of 30m and a

bollard pull of 65 tonnes.

Main power for the tug’s propulsion comes

from a pair of Mitsubishi S16R diesel main

engines coupled directly to a pair of Schottel

SRP 3000 propulsion units. With the SRP

PTI series the PTI is a permanent electric

magnet motor providing 460kW at 1,100 rpm

for manoeuvring and transit operation up to 10

knots without the main engines running. Power

for the PTI motors is provided by two Scania DI

16 diesel generators.

Because tugs are required to perform a

wide variety of tasks across their entire power

spectrum, they rarely need to operate for long

at or near the high power levels required for

optimum engine performance. The PTI solution

adapts to the task at hand. It eliminates the part

load operation from the main diesel engines

and takes over for transit and idling.

The system allows for an easy switch

between engine and PTI during tug operation so

that the power of the PTI can be added to the

diesel engine in the boost mode for maximum

bollard pull or high torque requirements at

partial loads. An additional benefit is that the

main engines can be considerably smaller in

size thus reducing capital and running costs.

The PTI option also permits a high level of

redundancy as there is an electric motor in

addition to the main diesel engine.

The EDDY tug will not be the first hybrid

tug that Schottel has had a hand in. What is

claimed as Europe’s first true hybrid tug, the

2010-built Rotor tug RT Adriaan, re-entered

service with the KOTUG fleet in the port of

Rotterdam two years ago having undergone

conversion from conventional diesel drive to a

diesel/battery hybrid with its Caterpillar engines

supplemented by a lithium-ion battery pack. A

500kW TECO-Westinghouse motor/generator

is installed in each shaftline close to the flexible

coupling of the tug’s trio of Schottel SRP 1215

FP azimuth thrusters.

Schottel’s SRP 3000 PTI thruster is one of its newest designs (credit: Schottel)

Schottel’s hybrid debut


versions, a retractable azimuthing thruster

can work in any orientation when extended

but when retracted into its tunnel housing

performs as a normal tunnel thruster.

Norwegian manufacturer Brunvoll claims

to have installed the first tunnel thruster

in 1965 although there may be competing

claims from elsewhere in the world. Tunnel

thrusters have proved their worth over time

in increasing manoeuvrability and – arguably

their main purpose – reducing tug usage and

associated expense.

Despite Asian dominance in shipbuilding,

thruster manufacture and development

remains mostly a European specialisation

but with some US involvement. Asian

manufacturing is not altogether missing as

Kawasaki with its Rexpeller thrusters has been

around for some time and, after installing its

first in-house produced tunnel thruster in

2005, Hyundai Heavy Industries has branched

out into azimuthing thrusters. In China also,

companies such as NGC Marine and Wuxi

Ruifeng Marine Propulsion are producing

both tunnel and propulsion thrusters.

Asian experience with thrusters has

produced one claimed ‘first’: in early 2012,

South Korean shipbuilder DSME claimed to

have carried out the world`s first on-shore

installation of an azimuth thruster. The ship

involved was Heerema’s 50,568dwt pipe lay

construction vessel Aegir. According to DSME,

this new shore based installation method

accelerated the construction schedule by

almost six months when compared to the

traditional underwater installation process.

After 50 years of use for both propulsion

and manoeuvring, thrusters are now quite

a mature technology but improvements and

innovations are still being made for all types.

Most recently this has involved rim drive

and permanent magnet technology, propeller

blade form and modifications in duct shape

aimed at achieving greater efficiency. Other

recent developments in thruster technology

have been the development of versions for

use in ice and contra-rotating propellers,

both of which come together in the Steerprop

system for a ro-pax ferry being built in Italy

by Fincantieri for Société des traversiers du

Québec (STQ).

The number of thrusters in service is

testament to their reliability and robustness

but, as with all machinery, problems and

faults will occur. Condition monitoring and

condition-based maintenance are growing

in importance in the marine industry and

thrusters have not been ignored with products

being developed specifically for use with

thrusters and for the occasions when things

do go wrong, there are also new developments

in underwater repair. MP

As more vessels are fitted with thrusters,

the likelihood of a breakdown or damage

needing urgent attention will inevitably

increase. Underwater repairs of all types are

quite commonplace today and one of the

world’s leading specialists, Antwerp-based

Hydrex, has recently launched a service

aimed at operators of ships fitted with

thrusters of any kind.

Hydrex is well known for using its

mobdocks to facilitate repairs to hulls and

the experience gained is behind the new

service. The company claims it was the first

to show that it was possible to remove and

then replace thrusters fast by creating a dry

environment underwater. Using mobdocks to

seal off the thruster tunnel, with an access

shaft protruding above the water, work teams

accessed the thruster tunnel and removed

or repaired the thruster within the tunnel in

complete safety. Hydrex has developed this

technology further using lightweight flexible

mobdocks designed to be easily transported

around the world.

In its new permanent thruster repair and

replacement system for offshore related

vessels and units, each vessel will carry its

own custom-designed mobdock supplied by

Hydrex as part of the service. The mobdock

can be included in the planning for a newbuild,

installed on a unit going to drydock or

constructed and brought onboard at any other

suitable time. With such a system on standby

any repair work to the thruster that may arise

can be dealt with much faster and more easily.

Some of the thruster related repairs recently

carried out by Hydrex include an 86m research

vessel in Congo that needed the stainless steel

belt in one of its thruster tunnels replaced. The

belt is installed around the perimeter of the

thruster tunnel at the location of the thruster

blades where the impact of the cavitation

caused by the movement of the blades is the

most severe and is designed to give extra

protection against cavitation damage.

When this suffered cracks, the underlying

steel was exposed to cavitation and the belt

needed to be replaced to prevent the thruster

tunnel from getting damaged too severely.

To facilitate the repair underwater, Hydrex

designed an open-top cofferdam that was

constructed in a local workshop in Pointe-

Noire under the supervision of the company’s

diver/technicians. At the same time a regular

shaped second cofferdam was also built.

Using the cofferdams and having drained the

tunnel, the old damaged belt was removed

and replaced with a new stainless steel belt

over a period of five days.

More recent repairs involved bow thruster

blade replacements in situ on three container

ships in Rotterdam and removal and later

replacement of the complete bow thruster

units on two other vessels in Rotterdam and

Tacoma. In the case of the thruster removals

these were done by first removing the blades

and then the thruster itself. With the vessels

sailing on normal operations between removal

and replacement it was also necessary to seal

off the tunnel from inside the vessel.

Special service speeds up repairs

Hydrex engineers guide a thruster's hub onto a workboat (credit: Hydrex)


thrusters

Wärtsilä overhauls thruster rangesDriven by what Wärtsilä describes as changing

market demands, the Finnish power and

propulsion specialist has responded by

developing new ranges of both azimuthing and

tunnel thrusters. According to Wärtsilä, its next

generation of thrusters has been developed by

using the latest calculation tools from thousands

of hours of model testing to ensure the products

are at the cutting edge of hydrodynamics.

On the propulsion front, the new Wärtsilä

Steerable Thruster (WST) series is being

introduced to replace the company's Modular

Thruster and Compact Thruster ranges. The

first models to become available are the WST-

45U and the WST-14.

The new WST-45U represents the latest

technological evolution of higher powered

units exceeding 3MW. An underwater

de-mountable thruster, it has been specifically

designed for the drilling and offshore

construction sectors but is equally suited to

other vessel types that require mounting or

exchange of thrusters afloat.

Compared with earlier models, the new

design provides the same amount of thrust from

a lower power requirement, thereby reducing

fuel cost. However, Wärtsilä also says that

mechanical improvements such as optimising

the hydrodynamic design of the lower gearbox

and incorporating an 8 degree tilt results in a

better performing, more reliable unit that does

not just reduce fuel but overall operating costs.

Based on the ABS Guide for Dynamic

Positioning Systems, a correction factor of

approximately 14 per cent on the performance

will be applied in case the DP-requirement

is based on conventional DP-capability

calculations. Already 116 units have been sold

with the maker claiming this places it at the

forefront of 8 degree tilt technology.

The second of the new models, the

WST-14, represents the latest evolution of

Wärtsilä’s series of steerable thrusters of less

than 3MW and is intended for tugs up to 45

tonne bollard pull, inland waterway vessels

and river/sea going cargo ships. This thruster

is compatible with both medium speed and

high speed (1,800 rpm) diesel engines.

By focusing on a more integrated design,

Wärtsilä says the WST-14 is more compact

than its predecessor, making it easier to

install. By improving the design performance,

extending engine compatibility to include high

speed diesel engines, providing light class

compliance and reducing the manufacturing

costs of this unit, the WST-14 series now

represents a much more competitive

proposition to the market.

In the new tunnel thruster range the first

product to be introduced to the market is the

WTT-11, which is a 1,100kW tunnel thruster

designed mainly for merchant cargo vessels

and used predominantly to manoeuvre the

vessel when mooring. Thanks to the smaller

size of the auxiliary equipment, Wärtsilä says it

is able to offer a cost effective solution which

also has a reduced footprint.

With its new range, Wärtsila believes is

can integrate both thrusters and propulsion

through one control platform, streamlining

bridge activities and optimising equipment

use. Multiple control stations can be installed

to ensure maximum flexibility. The control

system can be incorporated with Wärtsilä 3C,

which combines navigation, communication,

propulsion control and automation into one

platform with a common user interface giving

the bridge team easy access to all relevant

systems with a more simplified user interface.

The WST-45U is one of the first models in the new Wärtsilä Steerable Thruster series (credit: Wärtsilä)

Wärtsilä’s new WTT-11 tunnel thrusters (creit: Wärtsilä)

Pushing through the iceTowards the end of this year, the new 12,000gt

flagship of Canadian ferry operator Société

des Traversiers du Québec (STQ) will be

completed by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri’s

Castellammare di Stabia yard.

The new ro-pax ferry will be larger and

faster than its predecessor in the STQ fleet but,

despite its larger size, the vessel will also be

more efficient and environmentally friendly

thanks in part to the pair of Steerprop SP 120

ECO CRP propulsors that will drive the vessel.

Each of the Z-drive thrusters with their

contra-rotating propellers has a power rating

of 7,000kW. Because year-round operation

involves the vessel often working in severe ice

conditions during winter, the thrusters will be

type approved to Finnish-Swedish 1 A Super

ice-class standards.

Van Voorden Castings from the Netherlands

was entrusted with producing the four stainless

steel propellers. These have diameters of 2.9m

and 3.5m and a combined weight of over 25

tonnes. Stainless steel rather than the more

normal bronze was used for the propellers

because it resulted in thinner blades and thus

an increase in performance in ice and allowed

for lower fuel consumption. Furthermore ››› ››› the stainless steel has a higher resistance to

cavitation damage than bronze. .Van Voorden

claims to be one of the very few foundries in

the world which is able to cast stainless steel

in the dimensions and quality needed for the

propellers which were surveyed and approved

by Lloyd’s Register.

The ECO CRP thrusters are not the only

products intended for use in ice infested

waters to be supplied by Steerprop. The

company was also contracted to deliver main

propulsion systems for three icebreakers of

the Russian Federal Agency of Marine and

River Transportation from United Shipbuilding

Corp. Two of these icebreakers will be built in

the Vyborg shipyard in Russia and one in the

Arctech shipyard in Helsinki, Finland.

Steerprop is delivering two SP 110 ARC

PULL units for each of the icebreakers. The

units will have a power rating of 9,000kW each

and each will be classified according to the

Icebreaker 7 rating of the Russian Maritime ›››

A pair of Steerprop SP 120 ECO CRP will power STQ’s new ferry (credit: Steerprop)

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thrusters

››› Register of Shipping. Steeprop claims that

they will be the most powerful mechanical

azimuth propulsors in the world at their time

of delivery. The first shipset was planned to be

delivered to the shipyard in Vyborg as this issue

went to press the following two shipsets three

months and six months later.

Sensing problems saves cashLike all rotating or reciprocating machinery,

thrusters are subject to wear and require

regular maintenance. Being outside of the

hull in most instances they are also exposed

to other risks of damage, making them

exactly the type of machinery that will

benefit from continuous monitoring and this

has been recognised by some makers and

third party specialists.

Wärtsilä is an example of a manufacturer

that has applied condition monitoring across

the full range of its products from engines to

propellers and has been providing a service

for its thrusters for around five years now. The

company’s Propulsion Condition Monitoring

Service (PCMS) began as a retrofit option but

is now standard on most of its thruster supply

contracts. PCMS is not limited to thrusters

alone and can also be used on podded systems

– which some consider to be different from

thrusters – and to conventional controllable

pitch propellers.

Within the system, accelerometers are

used to monitor the condition of mechanical

parts, such as gears and bearings and can

also detect, for example, blade damage.

A single PCMS system is devoted to each

thruster or other propulsion component

and can process up to 16 accelerometers

simultaneously. Lubrication and hydraulic

oils are monitored by measuring

temperature, the oil-water saturation and

any oil contamination.

On a ship with many thrusters and

perhaps a conventional propeller/rudder

also in operation, the system gathers and

shows information from all the PCMS

cabinets on the vessel. It can give real-time

and trend values and advise the operator in

case of irregularities. It has been developed

to detect the operational states by real-

time comparisons of parameters from

multiple sources. For example, the vibration

measurements are linked to the operational

condition of the vessel. If an operational state

causes severe vibration, the PCMS will advise

how to rectify the situation.

Each day a data package of the day’s

monitoring is sent to Wärtsilä’s Condition

Based Maintenance centre. There the data is

automatically processed and, in the event of

irregularities, the propulsion specialist will

ZF Marine Krimpen has been designated

as the Global Competence Centre for

commercial azimuth thruster technology

within ZF’s Marine Business Unit. The Dutch

company produces a wide range of steerable

and transverse thrusters, covering a range

between 100kW and 2,000kW, with electric,

diesel or hydraulic drive systems.

Among its latest deliveries is Anna-B,

which it describes as a versatile multi-

purpose workboat with dynamic

positioning capabilities. It is powered by

four ZF thrusters, with no conventional

shaft installations or tunnel thrusters.

At the bow are two shallow draught

thrusters, type ZF SDT 4010 FP, each rated

at 250kW, which are driven by electric

motors and a drive system specially built by

ZF Marine Krimpen. At the stern are two

well-mounted azimuth thrusters, type ZF AT

6311 WM-FP, of 1,140kW each and driven by

Caterpillar engines.

The vessel has dynamic positioning

capabilities, which will be described in more

detail in a dynamic positioning feature in the

next issue of Marine Propulsion. MP

take action. Once a month, the customer

receives a PCMS report describing the

condition of his equipment. Most data

analysis is automated.

Although the system can identify major

problems and alert operators to take instant

action to prevent damage, its main benefit

is identifying problems that build gradually

and allow appropriate action to be planned

and implemented before a catastrophic

failure takes place.

Having the system on a vessel can also

allow for extended time between overhauls

and in some instances allow five-yearly visual

inspections required by class to be waived.

A similar service is offered by the German

third party specialist Condition Monitoring

Technologies (CMT). Being independent,

CMT’s service is not confined to one

manufacturer’s products but can cover all

brands and types of thruster providing a

useful option for ships that have equipment

from different makers installed on board.

The CMT service operates in the same

way as Wärtsilä’s PCMS, monitoring oil

temperature and condition and using

sensors to detect vibration caused by wear

or other system fault or damage. The fully

automated system is said to be ideal for

both newbuildings and retrofits as it can be

easily combined with any existing thruster

and ship management systems to create

a single master system. CMT’s system is

also approved by leading class societies as

meeting their condition-based maintenance

(CBM) requirements and can therefore

contribute to operating costs by removing

the need for scheduled overhauls.

Services and systems providing condition

monitoring of thrusters are not confined

to the two companies mentioned, as most

leading thruster makers offer some degree of

condition monitoring. Major manufacturers,

especially those that have products other

than thrusters that also benefit from CBM

regimes, will provide the type of shore-based

expert analysis service described above. For

smaller organisations, it may be left for

ships crews and the manufacturer’s service

engineers to interpret data retained on board.

CMT’s thruster monitor checks a number of parameters to detect vibration and other faults (credit: CMT)

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72 I Marine Propulsion I April/May 2014 www.mpropulsion.com72 I Marine Propulsion I April/May 2014 www.mpropulsion.com

W aterjets are based on a pump,

which can be grouped from pure

axial designs (delivering a high

flow at a low pressure) to pure radial

designs (generating a low flow at a high

pressure). For a high thrust output, a

waterjet needs to generate both a high

flow through the jet system and a high

pressure, dictating a pump with mixed-

flow properties.

A unique feature claimed for the Wärtsilä

axial flow waterjet is that it delivers the

mixed flow properties required but in a

pure axial geometry. A significant advantage

results as the water follows the optimum flow

path straight through the pump instead of

partly travelling in a radial direction before

exiting at the nozzle.

Axial waterjets primarily target

applications with vessel maximum speeds

up to 50-55 knots, Wärtsilä explained;

above that level axial jets should not be

used and a more radial-shaped mixed-flow

pump adopted to give better results. For

such extremely high speed applications,

the group offers its E-series waterjets

based on a non-axial pump, which address

applications calling for very high power

densities and vessel design speeds up to

70 knots.

Among the merits cited for axial jets are

compactness, high efficiency, low weight,

wider cavitation margin, higher shaft speed

reducing torque, and low forces transferred to

the vessel structure. The shaft speed depends

on the jet size and the power applied; a small

jet at high power can run at 2,000 rpm, a

large jet at 200 rpm.

Wärtsilä’s axial pump design is available

as a pre-assembled unit for smaller jets up to

around 4,500kW; the inlet duct is included

in the kit and the unit is delivered on a

skid with all auxiliary systems pre-mounted.

Larger jets extend to units rated up to 26MW.

The US Navy’s Joint High Speed Vessel and

Littoral Combat Ship programmes are among

notable Wärtsilä projects.

Last year saw Wärtsilä’s axial waterjet

references extended by a prestigious

installation driving the world’s fastest

high speed ferry. The 99m-long catamaran

Francisco, built by Incat Tasmania for the

South American operator Buquebus with

capacity for 1,000 passengers and 150 cars,

is deployed between Uruguay and Argentina.

A lightship speed of 58.1 knots was

achieved on trials by the twin GE LM2500

gas turbine-driven Wärtsilä LJX1720SR axial

waterjets, although a service speed of 50

knots is adopted for the River Plate crossing.

The 22MW turbines are arranged to burn

marine diesel or LNG. An impressive power

input can be absorbed by the relatively small

waterjets, whose compact dimensions allowed

installation within the ferry’s transom, saving

valuable space.

Effective and reliable control of the

waterjets in manoeuvring the vessel

is assigned to Wärtsilä’s Lipstronic 7000

propulsion control system. The system both

controls and indicates the steering angle,

bucket position and impeller speed, and can

Across the board developments maintain the attraction of waterjets for applications ranging from wind farm support vessels to warships

by Doug Woodyard

Jets tailor thrust for niche markets

waterjets

Wärtsilä LJX1720SR axial waterjets drive the ferry Francisco

at speeds up to 58 knots


be operated via either joystick control or

autopilot. A built-in redundancy underwrites

robustness and safety.

A significant business boost for Australia-

based Doen Waterjets is anticipated from a

recent agreement between Doen Pacific and

Thrustmaster of Texas enabling the US thruster

specialist to expand its production programme

with waterjets. Thrustmaster will exploit part

of a manufacturing facility in Houston, which

benefited from an investment of US$ 40 million

in 2009, to produce Doen jets for sale in North/

South America and Europe.

Field support will come from a Thrustmaster

global sales and service network that includes

Houston, Houma, Rotterdam, Singapore,

Dubai, Brazil and India.

Evolved over almost 50 years, Doen

Waterjets’ portfolio has hitherto embraced 13

models covering an input power range from

100kW to 4,000kW for leisure, commercial

and military vessel propulsion. Speeds of up

to 45 knots are reportedly combined with

‘exceptional’ low speed thrust and load-

carrying capability. Three axial flow design

programmes – the DJ100, 200 and 300 series –

have been offered, with different options and

installation methods to suit diverse hull forms

and structures.

Targeting larger commercial applications,

however, Thrustmaster plans to introduce

two new models – the 400 and 450 series –

extending the power input range to 6,400kW.

The Thrustmaster Doen line-up will then cover:

• 100 Series waterjets available in seven

model sizes with input ratings from 100kW

to 900kW for vessels from 6m to 20m in

length, supported by simple mechanical and

electronic control system options;

• 200 Series waterjets available in four

stainless steel model sizes from 400kW

to 2,500kW for vessels from 15m to 45m

in length, supported by a full range of

electronic controls with joystick docking;

• 300 Series waterjets available in two

stainless steel model sizes from 1,300kW

to 4,000kW for vessels from 30m to 60m

in length, supported by a full range of

electronic controls with joystick docking;

• 400 Series waterjets available in two model

sizes from 100kW to 6,400kW for large

vessels, supported by a range of electronic

controls with joystick docking.

Finnish contender Alamarin-Jet’s new 245

waterjet design features a reportedly unique

Combi-Frame construction that allows

installation either outside or inside the hull.

Vessel designers are thus able to optimise

weight distribution and engine location;

an over-sized inspection hatch can also be

arranged outside or inside the vessel to

ease maintenance. In addition, the Combi-

Frame is said to simplify installation when

repowering from another waterjet type or

from a sterndrive system. Long and short tail

applications are facilitated.

Other design features highlighted by

Alamarin-Jet – all simplifying installation

and operation – are an integrated hydraulic

steering cylinder compatible with common

helm pumps, an integrated hydraulic cylinder

for reverse deflector control, an integrated

hydraulic oil cooler and a replaceable conical

stainless steel impeller wear ring. A special

stator and steering nozzle design contribute

to an ‘exceptionally good’ steering response.

With an axial flow single-stage pump,

the aluminium/stainless steel jet is suitable

for drives from engines with outputs up to

235kW and maximum speeds of 4,600 rpm

for the impeller shaft; the impeller has a

maximum diameter of 245mm. A forward

bollard pull up to 8kN can be generated,

fostering high cavitation limits, while the

reverse pulling force is considered high at

some 60 per cent of the forward thrust. MP

Castoldi expands its Turbodrive rangeItalian specialist Castoldi is developing what

will be the largest model in its Turbodrive

programme, which currently includes the 238,

240HC, 282, 340HC, 400HC and 490HC

models. (The nomenclature indicates the

impeller inlet diameter in millimetres and

HC denotes the incorporation of a hydraulic

clutch). The continuous duty power ratings

for fast vessel propulsion covered by the

series range from 184kW to 1,103kW, while

intermittent duty ratings extend from 250kW

to 1,324kW.

The new 600HC model will be based on the

company’s established technology but exploiting

what the company’s founder, Giacomo Castoldi,

described as “a new and revolutionary design”

that cannot yet be unveiled.

Some details can be reported, however:

the pump will be a three-bladed, single-stage

axial flow type and the impeller diameter will

be 600mm at the inlet. An integrated gearbox

will be offered with a choice of 25 reduction

gear ratios. A dry unit weight of 1,580kg

will include the gearbox, hydraulic clutch,

anodes, levers, water intake, grid and duct.

Maximum power inputs will be 1,985kW

(intermittent duty) and 1,655kW (continuous

duty); single-, twin-, triple- and quadruple-

jet installations will respectively serve fast

vessels with maximum displacements of

28-34 tonnes, 70-84 tonnes, 120-143 tonnes

and 207 tonnes.

An integrated electrically-operated multi-

disc hydraulic clutch will enable disconnecting

and connecting of the waterjet impeller while

the engine is idling. A special light and

compact hydraulically-actuated Castoldi Twin

Duct reversing bucket system will deliver 75

per cent of the forward static thrust. Steering

will be hydraulically actuated via a special

nozzle integrated in a protective bowl.

Optimisation of the full range continues

to be pursued and Mr Castoldi cited a new

tail design, now installed on all models, for

reducing turbulence and improving steering

efficiency, along with new control panels of a

more functional design and integration of the

position-keeping function in the company’s

ACES electronic control system.

Among current commitments, Castoldi is

supplying eighty Turbodrive 400HC waterjets

for an Indian Navy fast intervention craft

programme, the 15m-long vessels having a

speed of 47 knots. The contract is the largest

secured by the company in recent years.

Castoldi also stresses its role as a

boatbuilder, manufacturing a 17-model

range of Jet Tenders from 4.2m to 10m

in length and including two Solas rescue

boats. The business provides a valuable

opportunity to test waterjets and provide

feedback on their performance and reliability

in service.

Quadruple Wärtsilä jet sets serve US Navy Freedom-class trimaran Littoral Combat Ships

waterjets


A wide spectrum of market opportunities

can be targeted by Rolls-Royce with a

Kamewa waterjet programme ranging

from the FF-series of small models through

aluminium A3 to stainless steel S3 designs.

The portfolio has extended to the new

Axial Mk 1 waterjet with an input power

rating of 22MW which will be fitted to

future Freedom variants of Littoral Combat

Ships from Lockheed Martin for the US

Navy. The first four examples will drive

USS Milwaukee (LCS5), launched at the

Marinette Marine yard in December, at

speeds exceeding 40 knots. Extended full-

scale sea trials of the jets are planned to

benefit subsequent deliveries.

Developed in co-operation with the US

Office of Naval Research since 2007, the

advanced axial flow jet has a throughput

almost 500,000 gallons of water per minute

to yield more thrust per unit than current

commercial designs. More cavitation-free

performance is also promised for its size and

power than any other waterjet. Production

is based at Rolls-Royce facilities in the USA.

The A3 series waterjet range was strengthened

by new 25A3, 28A3 and 63A3 models, whose

features include a mixed-flow fully stainless

steel pump, an integrated aluminium inlet duct

and inboard hydraulics and thrust bearing.

Larger vessels can now exploit a modular

configuration for easier installation of the jets;

the largest model – the 63A3 – has an input

power rating of over 2,500kW.

A higher efficiency translates into lower

fuel consumption for a given workload; a

reduction in size, weight and life-cycle costs

is also claimed over rival designs in the

same power band. A compact bucket system

yields a reversing thrust of 65 per cent

of the maximum ahead thrust to enhance

manoeuvrability, while superior station

keeping at zero speed makes the jets suitable

for dynamic positioning operations.

New modular interceptor trim tabs

can be specified for the largest A3 series

models, bolted directly on the unit with their

associated hydraulics and control panels for

electronics. Easily retrofitted by bolts, the

trim system improves acceleration and low

speed characteristics as well as facilitating

trim angle adjustment.

Fast ferries are candidates for Kamewa

A3 series aluminium jets, the reference

list recently extended by the 44.7m-long

Kilimanjaro IV, the seventh of the type

designed by Australia’s Incat Crowther for

Coastal Fast Ferries of Tanzania. Built in

Tasmania by Richardson Devine Marine, the

606-passenger catamaran has a loaded service

speed of 35 knots and a maximum speed of 38

knots from four 50A3 waterjets.

Wind farm support tonnage represents

another valuable business source, typified by

orders from the UK’s Seacat Services for three

24m-long aluminium catamarans from South

Boats IOW in southern England. Speeds up

to 30 knots are yielded by twin 56A3 jets,

each driven by a V12-cylinder MTU Series

2000 M72 engine. Similar outfits will serve

26m-long vessels for the same operator.

Kamewa 40A3 jets were selected for the

15.2m-long commuter yacht Rhode Island,

built by New England Boatworks in the USA

with a pair of 1,150kW diesel-driven jets

delivering a speed close to 60 knots.

Crew transfer boats for offshore installations

are well served by waterjet propulsion in

terms of speed and manoeuvrability, Rolls-

Royce citing the 18m-long Leicon CTV9 as an

example. With a crew of two and capacity

for 32 passengers, the aluminium catamaran

supports oil and gas activities off the coast

of Western Australia. Twin 650kW diesel

engines driving 36A3 jets delivered a speed of

32.1 knots when loaded with fuel and water

and 16 passengers; the contract speed of 26

knots was achieved at 65 per cent maximum

continuous rating.

Retrofit installations are also facilitated, a

recent project calling for the removal of propellers,

shafts and rudders from the fast catamaran ferry

Trondheimsfjord 1 and replacement with a pair

of 50A3 waterjets and associated Rolls-Royce

Compact Control system.

The last of a series of six Kamewa-driven

Baynunah-class corvettes for the UAE Navy

was completed in February by Abu Dhabi

Ship Building. A derivative of CMN’s BR70

design – the French yard built the first-of-

class – the 71.3m-long deep-V hard-chine

steel hull with a relatively shallow draught

has an aluminium superstructure.

An unusual CODAD propulsion system

embraces four V16-cylinder MTU Series 595

TE90 diesel engines (each delivering 4,200kW

at 1,800 rpm) arranged to drive three Kamewa

waterjets through Renk transmissions. Each

outer engine is linked to a 112SII jet via an

AUSL gearbox while the central engine pair

drives a 125B11 jet via a twin-input/single-

output ASL 2 x 115 gearbox.

Such a configuration enables the centre

jet to be driven at continuous maximum

power by two engines or at partial load by

just one engine; control of the centre gear

unit with one or two engines engaged is

fully automatic. A maximum speed of 32

knots-plus is reported with all four engines

deployed, and a range of 2,400 nautical miles

delivered at the cruising speed of 15 knots.

A new high-efficiency waterjet under

development by Rolls-Royce is intended for

propelling a US Navy unmanned surface

craft. The smallest from the designer to

date, with a diameter of 100mm, the jet is

required to drive the craft quietly on remotely-

controlled missions, undertaking intelligence,

surveillance and reconnaissance roles.

The X-class Modular Unmanned Surface

Craft Littoral (MUSCL) aims to reduce risk to

manned forces as well as taking on tedious and

repetitive tasks. Providing thrust to drive the

craft at speeds over 25 knots and sustain cruising

at 15 knots, the waterjets will form part of an

innovative small propulsion system development

project funded by the US government and led by

Candent Technologies Inc. MP

Kilimanjaro IV has a maximum speed of 38 knots from four Kamewa 50A3 waterjets (credit: Incat Crowther)

Rolls-Royce’s Kamewa serves a broad marketAn expanded Kamewa range finds references from naval to passenger vessels

When you command a vessel in the Navy, Coast Guard or

border police, you know that superior speed and power

are crucial. Up on the bridge, you want ease of operation

and instant response, because seconds and inches can

make the difference between success and failure.

Our waterjet systems have repeatedly proven their

utility in the toughest military encounters. Every MJP

component is developed to optimize performance in the

full range of governmental applications – from small

craft to ships.

So when push comes to shove, you know you’ve got

the best there is.

In my job, I want to know I’ve got the better boat

marinejetpower.com

Meet us at Seawork International.

MJP_C_MarinePropulsion_210x297.indd 1 2014-04-09 15.05


waterjets

E xperience gained in designing and

producing waterjets since 1954 is applied

by New Zealand-based HamiltonJet in

refining a portfolio which currently includes

designs for power inputs from 150kW to

3,000kW for vessels up to 60m long.

The HJ series of smaller jets, embracing eight

models with impeller diameters from 200mm to

400mm, are typically suitable for vessels of 6-20m

in length; larger applications are served by the

HM series, whose seven models with impeller

diameters from 420mm to 810mm generally

address 18-60m craft with two or more engines.

Fast offshore crewboats have traditionally

provided business for HamiltonJet, its references

extended last year by the delivery of the 58m-long

catamarans Seacor Lynx and Seacor Leopard from

the Gulf Craft yard, the third and fourth of

Seacor Marine’s CrewZer class. A service speed

of 40 knots on a deadweight of over 120 tonnes

and a maximum speed of 42 knots is secured by

a propulsion plant based on four V16-cylinder

MTU Series 4000 M73L engines, each driving an

HT-810 waterjet.

Due for delivery in May is the first of two

54m-long fast support vessels for Seacor Marine

from the Neuville Boat Works in Louisiana; seating

for up to 83 passengers is provided along with cargo

tankage and a deck freight capacity of 196 tonnes.

Four Cummins QSK50-M engines, each

developing 1,325kW at 1,800 rpm, will drive

Hamilton HT811 waterjets via Twin Disc

gearboxes with a reduction ratio of 2.58:1.

Speeds up to 30 knots are promised from the

quadruple-jet installation.

Now building at Incat Tasmania is the world’s

largest waterjet-propelled high speed crewboat,

heading a 70m-long class for operations in the

Caspian Sea. Space is arranged for 150 passengers

and 14 crew, along with 200 tonnes of deck cargo.

The semi-SWATH vessel – also HamiltonJet’s

largest reference to date – will be powered by four

2,880kW MTU engines driving 900mm-diameter

HT900 jets. A maximum speed of 36 knots and

an efficient service speed of 30 knots at full

load and 90 per cent mcr will reportedly make

the craft more cost-effective to deploy than

helicopter transfer of crew and cargo.

Four control stations will each exploit

HamiltonJet’s Modular Electronic Control

System, integrated with DNV Dynpos-AUTR

dynamic positioning. The waterjets are said to

work particularly well in DP-capable craft, where

the powerful 360-degree thrust forces generated

by the jet’s split duct reverse deflector at any

vessel speed effectively act as an azimuth thruster.

The effect of the waterjet’s manoeuvring thrust

is further enhanced by the wide spacing of the jet

units in a catamaran configuration – two jets per

hull – which yields even better control of the stern

and can even assist with sideways movement of

the bow. This low speed manoeuvrability boost has

helped its waterjets secure dominance in the fast

crewboat arena, HamiltonJet asserts.

Hitherto the largest vessel to be specified

with HamiltonJet units, the 68.5m-long Gulf

Craft-built monohull crewboat Ms Netty, also

designed by Incat Crowther, features quadruple

HT900 jets for a maximum speed of 32 knots.

HamiltonJet’s largest waterjet model, the

HT1000, has yet to be specified for a crewboat

but has reportedly proven its worth in patrol

boat propulsion. The company is confident of

sustaining business as crewboat designs develop

further in size.

Fast offshore supply vessel propulsion is also

targeted by Swedish specialist Marine Jet Power,

whose recent projects included quadruple-MJP

650 CSU waterjet outfits for a pair of 53m-long

FSVs ordered by Rodi Marine Services from

Swiftships Shipbuilders. The 31-knot vessels are

scheduled for service with the Louisiana-based

operator in first-half 2014.

Marine Jet Power offers a full line of stainless

steel and aluminium jets with mixed or axial

flow pump technologies, absorbing engine

power inputs from 112kW to 15MW with intake

diameters from 250mm to 1,550mm. Single-,

twin-, triple- and quadruple-sets cover a wide

range of vessel demands.

Among current commitments are twin-MJP

DRB 400 jet systems for a series of 19m-long

aluminium-hulled patrol boats commissioned

by a south east Asia government from Lung

Teh Shipbuilding in Taiwan. The first is due for

handover early next year. Driven by 1,215kW

MAN high speed engines, the jets are expected to

achieve a vessel speed of around 50 knots. Waterjet

propulsion – valued for shallow draught operations

– will also facilitate a beaching capability.

Medium-size DRB series jets are described as

of heavy duty design, fostering low maintenance

and high reliability, while their high efficiency

mixed flow pumps deliver a high maximum

speed and low fuel consumption.

Lung Teh’s order backlog includes a 60m

missile catamaran for the Taiwan Navy which

will be equipped with quadruple MJP CSU 850

waterjets. CSU jets are larger, mixed flow, all-

stainless steel units backed by a five-year warranty.

Last October Marine Jet Power was selected as

the preferred waterjet supplier for the South Korean

Navy’s multi-vessel gas turbine-powered PKX-B

patrol boat project; it earlier partnered a Korean

company in securing contracts to supply other Navy

and Coastguard programmes. The latest project will

enable MJP to enhance its local manufacturing and

service capabilities in South Korea.

Marine Jet Power’s thrust in the smaller

waterjet arena was strengthened in 2012 by

acquiring the relevant interests of the UK/USA-

based Ultra Dynamics, adding the popular Ultrajet

aluminium axial flow series to its programme. MP

Crewboats extend waterjet references

Final assembly of a HamiltonJet HT900 waterjet


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textAnnual Marine Propulsion Conference and Awards

A t Riviera’s Annual Marine Propulsion

Conference and Awards, MAN Diesel &

Turbo’s Ole Grøne was recognised with

a lifetime achievement award.

At a glittering ceremony in London Mr Grøne

collected his award from Riviera chairman, John

Labdon, in front of more than 200 industry

friends and colleagues.

In a glowing tribute featuring messages from

colleagues all over the world, Mr Grøne was

commended for both his technical knowledge

and understanding of the marine market. His

talent for explaining complex concepts in a clear

and engaging manner was also recognised as

was the pioneering work he has done in driving

advances in the marine engineering field as

well as the contribution he has made to the

general body of marine engineering industry

knowledge. It is perhaps no surprise Mr Grøne is

affectionately known as ‘Mr Diesel’ throughout

the maritime industry.

Collecting the award, (the second of the

night for MAN Diesel & Turbo, having also

been recognised in the evening’s Fuel Efficiency

category) a typically modest Mr Grøne paid

tribute to the teams he had worked with and

said it had been his privilege to communicate

their successes. He also joked that anyone who

thought the award meant he was retiring was

very much mistaken!

Other winners on the night were DFDS

and Wärtsilä. DFDS won the Environmental

Performance Award. DFDS’ director of

sustainability and environmental affairs,

Poul Woodall, collected the award on

behalf of the Danish operator. The accolade

was given in recognition of DFDS’ many

initiatives over the past year as well as its

sizeable financial commitments to improving

the environmental performance of the fleet

it operates.

The director of Wärtsilä’s technology

development programme, Mikael Troberg,

collected the Marine Propulsion & Auxiliary

Machinery Marine Engineering Award. This

explicitly recognised Wärtsilä for its RT-flex50DF

engine technology.

The fuel efficiency, environmental

performance and marine engineering award

were determined by online industry vote. The

lifetime achievement award was selected by

Riviera’s editorial staff alone.

The awards are an annual fixture of the

marine propulsion conference and information

on the 2015 awards will be available via

www.marinepropulsionconference.com and

through the pages of this journal.

Industry’s ‘Mr Diesel’ recognised at gala dinner

Serge Dal Farra (Total Lubmarine) opened the awards and presented the winners’ trophies


NOx and SOx control

A t some point in the future, shipowners

may find that they have to face up to

new regulations other than EEDI or

even levies on output of CO2 but thankfully for

them there appear to be many obstacles for the

IMO and other regulatory bodies to clear before

that situation arises. In the meantime, operators

have more pressing matters to deal with as

regards other exhaust gases.

Of these, the one that is occupying minds

most is the advent next January of the final

sulphur limit reduction in ECAs to 0.1 per cent.

Then, as things stand, there will be only one

more reduction in sulphur levels to face and that

is the far more difficult cut to 0.5 per cent from

the current 3.5 per cent limit in the open oceans.

Another is the issue of NOx which, after the

surprise decision of MEPC 65 to push the Tier

III implementation date back by five years, was

high on the agenda of MEPC 66, taking place as

this issue went to press.

That has pushed NOx towards the back

burner, making future sulphur limits the bigger

issue of the two. The concerns are over both the

available technology and the future availability

of suitable fuels.

As far as the transition to the 0.1 per cent

limit in the Baltic and North Sea SECA is

concerned, there has been a degree of a managed

change brought about by an EU directive that

applies a similar level on vessels in port. That

said, most ships would have been running only

auxiliaries during port stays and they tend to be

mostly burning MDO or MGO in any case, but

when the IMO ECA limit comes into force it will

apply to ships transiting the areas as well.

In the two ECAs in American waters, the

transition will be sudden and clear-cut in

most ports and could well come as a shock to

operators of ships that have not yet experienced

the financial and operational ramifications of

the reduction from 1.0 per cent to 0.1 per cent.

Ships that trade between the EU and the US

would already be aware of the matter although

the additional cost of compliance at both ends of

the voyage will inevitably have an impact.

As things stand there are just two ways

to reduce SOx levels – burning fuel with

a low or no sulphur content or installing

a scrubber. The first option has many

potential solutions with LNG and dual-fuel

engines being one, although even the most

enthusiastic proponents of LNG will admit

that it is unsuited to most existing vessels

and, even for newbuildings, would require a

massive investment in infrastructure.

While it would certainly solve the sulphur

issue, the use of LNG is supposed to have

other benefits and its use is being promoted

for a variety of reasons that not all within the

industry fully agree with. Time will tell if LNG

does become a fuel of choice or whether it enjoys

a brief spike and then fades into obscurity.

The low sulphur fuel oil or distillate choices

are the other fuel alternatives to LNG for

existing vessels and newbuilds alike but, while

they present an easy temporary fix on a practical

level, the cost is very likely going to be an issue

that will force many to look long and hard at

installing a scrubber. More importantly there are

doubts as to whether sufficient quantities will

be available to meet deadlines. The International

Chamber of Shipping is posing this question

once again at MEPC 66 and asking for the review

into the availability of appropriate fuels in time

for future deadlines to begin immediately and

without further delay.

Putting a price on meeting the sulphur

emission standards is a complex task and one

fraught with uncertainties. As reported in the

last issue of Marine Propulsion, an attempt to

do this was made in January at the opening of

the new Alfa Laval Test and Training Centre in

Aalborg where scrubber technology was at the

core of the day’s events.

A presentation by Tamio Kawashima,

managing director of Monohakobi Technology

Institute (MTI), a subsidiary company of NYK

Line, about the likely cost of the 0.5 per cent

global cap on sulphur gave a great deal of food

for thought. According to Kawashima, the cost

for a world fleet of just 40,000 ships with a

consumption of 50 tonnes per day for 200 days

per year each and a price differential of US$300

between present fuel oil and low sulphur or

distillate fuels would equate to an extra US$120

billion on the fuel bill each year.

That is a staggering sum and yet it is difficult

to argue with Kawashima’s figures for they are

easily recognised as being perhaps a little on the

conservative side.

Mr Kawashima also addressed the criticism

of wash water from scrubbers being discharged

at sea. He pointed out that the sea already has a

natural sulphur content and, although the annual

amount of sulphur that might be discharged

if every ship was fitted with a scrubber and

continued burning standard fuel oil would be

as high as 9 million tonnes per year, that would

be only 0.00000072 per cent of the naturally

occurring sulphur in sea water. At that rate it

As shipowners prepare for emissions reductions in the near future, SOx and NOx control are high on the agenda

by Malcolm Latarche

Facing up to reality

MARPOL ANNEX VI SOX LIMITS

Outside an ECA established to limit SOx and particulate matter emissions

Inside an ECA established to limit

SOx and particulate matter emissions

4.50 per cent m/m prior to 1 January 2012

1.50 per cent m/m prior to 1 July 2010

3.50 per cent m/m on and after 1 January 2012

1.00 per cent m/m on and after 1 July 2010

0.50 per cent m/m on and after 1 January 2020*

0.10 per cent m/m on and after 1 January 2015

*alternative date is 2025, to be decided by a review in 2018

North American ECA

North Sea ECA

4 w

est

5 w

est

62 North

Operators should be aware of the differing attitudes in the North American and European SECAs (credit: Oceanox)


would take almost 1.4 million years to raise the

natural sulphur level by a single percentage point.

Those facts may not help deflect criticism by

environmentalists over the discharge of wash

water direct into the oceans but Kawashima

is not alone in raising the issue and asking for

some slack to be given by regulators. In early

March, Patrick Verhoeven, secretary general

of the European Community Shipowners'

Associations (ECSA) opened the Clean Shipping

Conference during Baltic Transport Week in

Gdansk, Poland.

In his opening address, Mr Verhoeven covered

the issues facing shipowners and highlighted

the fact that installing a scrubber involved

a large financial commitment and, in these

uncertain times, commercial financing cannot

be easily obtained in present market conditions.

He added that at least 15 studies have been

produced on the economic implications of

which a substantial majority predict significant

negative consequences for shipowners, ports

and regional industries.

Mr Verhoeven said the business case for

certain shipping routes in the European SECA

area is already marginal and the slightest cost

increase could mean the end of profitability.

Many shipping companies will therefore

not be able to absorb these extra costs and

will have to charge them to the user, the

shipper. He questioned whether shippers will

be prepared to pay the extra costs or shift to

other, cheaper, transport alternatives. “There is

a lot of talk about shippers demanding ‘green’

transport, but are they also willing to pay for

it?” he asked.

He went on to say that continued monitoring

of economic impact and modal backshift is

important and even a legal obligation under

the EU Sulphur Directive and revealed that

at the European Sustainable Shipping Forum

in late February it was agreed to establish a

European monitoring tool, which could become

operational this summer. As well as monitoring,

Mr Verhoeven listed three priority elements to

settle: financial support options, legal certainty

and a fair level playing field.

He stressed the need to obtain concrete support

for retrofit projects and newbuilds. While national

funding is in theory possible under the EU

environmental state aid guidelines, the experience

from Finland – the only country in the EU that has

applied the guidelines so far in the SECA context

– shows that there is a time constraint involved,

which will make it difficult for other member

states to follow suit at this late stage.

Finally, with the implementation date

approaching fast, he made a plea for a fair and

level playing field asking that the early adopters,

those operators that completed all the investments

and are ready to meet the sulphur norms on 1

January 2015, are not penalised against those that

think it is cheaper to do nothing.

And he believes that some leniency should be

shown to those that can demonstrate that they

have made the necessary commitments to meet

the standards, but may not be entirely ready by

the time the deadline arrives, for technical or

other good reasons. For example, a compliance

path with a limited and conditional timeframe

might be offered, he suggested.

There is a precedent, Mr Verhoeven said.

“The USA seems to allow this flexibility within

the North American ECA, and we should have

the same flexibility in Europe.”

Patrick Verhoeven (ECSA): will shippers pay for green shipping? (credit: ECSA)

Repeat orders roll in for scrubbersSo far, the scrubber market has been dominated

by European manufacturers with Alfa Laval

and Wärtsilä leading the charge backed up by

smaller newcomers such as Clean Marine and

Green Tech Marine from Norway and Saacke

and Couple Systems in Germany. The volume of

orders is nowhere near enough to demonstrate

that the concept has been accepted by more

than a few pioneering owners, but the level of

repeat orders does suggest that the technology

is living up to expectations.

Sigurd Jenssen, director of exhaust gas

cleaning, environmental solutions, at Wärtsilä

Ship Power told Marine Propulsion that, while

the company would not provide a detailed

breakdown of the orders received, they include

virtually every ship type: cruise, container,

ferries, roro, tankers and trawlers.

Mr Jenssen agreed that the level of

repeat custom is significant. Recently, Italian

operator Messina Line ordered four more

shipsets at STX following its initial order

for four vessels at DSME and Norway’s

Solvang has ordered three more shipsets

(both newbuilds and retrofit), after having

taken delivery of two shipsets at Hyundai

Heavy Industries in South Korea. Another

recent repeat order saw Wilhelmsen ordering

more ships sets following the retrofit of

Tarago April last year.

Alfa Laval has notched up repeat orders for

its PureSox system from Danish ferry operator

DFDS and from Dutch operator Spliethoff.

The November 2013 order from Spliethoff

comprises systems for five con-ro vessels to be

retrofitted between June and December this

year. The order is significant because it follows

practical experience gained over more than

6,000 hours using a PureSox system on its

con-ro Plyca. Alfa Laval delivered the system

in 2012 and it has been in continuous use

aboard the vessel ever since within the North

European ECA.

Not to be outdone by their peers, Norway’s

two system makers have also notched

up significant orders. Green Tech Marine

announced in February that its biggest

customer, Norwegian Cruise Line, is installing

28 scrubbers on six ships in the line’s fleet. The

contract covers Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian

Dawn, Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Gem, Norwegian

Pearl and Norwegian Sun and will be completed

over a two-year period. Green Tech Marine

also supplied the scrubbers on NCL’s Pride of

America last year and will deliver 10 scrubbers

The bulk carrier Balder was the first into the US ECA using a scrubber (credit: Clean Marine)


NOx and SOx control

to the company’s two new builds, Norwegian

Escape and Norwegian Bliss under construction at

Meyer Werft in Germany.

Clean Marine, based in Lysaker, is to supply

scrubbers for two 38,000 dwt chemical tankers

being built for Stolt Tankers and NYK Stolt

Tankers by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in

China. The two vessels are part of a series of

six sister ships and the remaining four vessels

will be designed with the flexibility to add a

scrubber at a later stage.

Clean Marine’s system is based on Advanced

Vortex Chamber technology and its integrated fan

and gas recirculation technology allows the single

exhaust gas cleaning system to simultaneously

serve several combustion units. In total, it will

manage seven exhaust sources and will be

designed to clean 140 tonnes of exhaust per hour.

• In August 2013, Clean Marine’s scrubber

became the first to be allowed to operate in the

US emission control area. The Torvald Klaveness

self-discharging bulk carrier Balder arrived at

Baltimore where its master sought approval

from the coast guard to enter and exit the ECA

Zone using high sulphur fuel oil using an EGCS.

Officials from the USCG conducted a Port

State Control examination and confirmed that

the Clean Marine EGCS was in full compliance

with Marpol Annex VI as an equivalent to

using low-sulphur fuel.

Japan joins scrubber clubA new joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Mitsubishi Kakoki Kaisha (MKK) to develop a hybrid system means that Japan has now joined the very short list of countries where scrubbers are likely to be manufactured. The announcement by the two partners in February this year said the system is the first in Japan able to comply with the 2015 ECA emission standards, which suggests that others within the country are also working on scrubber development.

In common with most systems now in production, the Japanese version has two scrubbing systems: one that uses circulating freshwater and the other using one-pass flow with seawater. The

freshwater system can scrub exhaust gas from combustions of heavy fuel oil with 3.5 per cent sulphur content to the equivalent of low-sulphur fuel oil with 0.1 per cent sulphur content, achieving compliance with SOx emission regulations of IMO scheduled to go into effect in ECAs in 2015.

The seawater system can scrub exhaust to match that of 0.5 per cent sulphur content fuel oil to comply with regulations that are expected to be applied in global marine areas in the future. Washing seawater is discharged outside after treatment, complying with requirements for discharged wash water.

The system includes a SOx scrubber,

a container unit housing a wash water processing system and other components and ISO standard tank containers to store sludge and a caustic soda solution (NaOH) to neutralise circulating fresh water. Modular construction is said to enable flexible arrangement of components, reducing installation time and cost requirements, and making it easier to retrofit the system to ships already in service.

MHI and MKK plan to install one of the new high-performance systems on a car carrier in a joint study with ClassNK, K-Line and Japan Marine United Corporation as part of ClassNK’s Joint R&D for Industry programme.

Meeting Tier III: Can it be that hard?Russia’s argument at MEPC that technology

to meet Tier III is not available, is not one

that many engine makers would agree with.

Leaving aside engines that run on LNG or

other gaseous fuels all the time, over the

past three years new engines in both the

medium and low speed sectors meeting Tier III

levels have become available from every major

engine maker. For current engines models

that do not yet measure up, selective catalytic

reduction (SCR) is an option that would

ensure compliance if it is needed.

Not every vessel will be obliged to meet Tier

III because it only applies to ships built after 1

January 2016 when operating in an ECA. If a

ship will be operating outside of ECAs then only

Tier II emission limits need be complied with.

Of course, the big problem is that shipowners

contemplating a new order now or in the very

near future cannot know with any certainty

what new ECAs might be established over time.

So to ensure the continued guaranteed

ability to trade everywhere in the world, every

vessel built after 1 January 2016 will need a Tier

III-compliant engine to be fitted or provision

made for it to be brought up to standard in

the future. Proving compliance will of course

result in more costs as some form of monitoring

will be necessary to satisfy port state control

authorities that the engine is running in the

appropriate mode.

So far, the engines that meet Tier III have

been able to do so using SCR or exhaust gas

recirculation (EGR). The latter is a developing

technology that is improving but probably has

some way to go before issues such as increased

CO2 output and reductions in efficiency are

resolved. Unlike the EGR systems that are

in-house modifications by engine makers, SCR

is usually a third party supply, although system

makers may co-operate with engine producers.

SCR is more effective – up to 99 per cent

in some cases and under certain conditions –

and is proven technology with more than 500

systems installed and in operation. It does

however involve capital outlay, unavoidable

running costs and comes with a space and

weight penalty.

Compact SCR systems are beginning to

debut with MAN Diesel & Turbo and ABB

among those producing smaller systems. In

these, the catalyst is some 80 per cent smaller

than early systems but is still a large piece

of equipment that must be placed between

the turbochargers and any boiler or waste

heat recovery system. The catalyst will need

replacing at intervals of around four to five

years but, because the catalysts are arranged in

a layered system that allows for only damaged

catalysts to be identified and exchanged, it is

not necessary to replace the entire catalyst at

the same time. MP

An MAN Diesel & Turbo SCR, installed downstream of an MAN 6L48/60B main engine (credit: MAN Diesel & Turbo)


D iscussion and argument over Tier III

NOx levels was high on the agenda at

the MEPC 66 meeting in late March

in London as delegates took positions on the

merit of the attempt by Russia at last May’s

MEPC 65 to delay the 2016 coming into force

date. In the event, a series of compromises

were adopted that would appear to have

satisfied most of those present.

Russia’s objections to the 2016 date for

Tier III to become effective were supported

by a number of delegates on the grounds that

technologies enabling new vessels to meet

the standards were not available. This was

the only valid ground for a delay allowed

under the Marpol Annex VI regulations and,

although it is generally accepted that such

technologies do exist, some are of the opinion

that their application is uneconomic.

Tier III applies only to new vessels operating

in ECAs that specifically allow control of

NOx emissions beyond the Tier II levels that

apply to ships operating anywhere else. As

the two European ECAs are limited to SOx

emissions, the only ECAs affected are the

US/Canada and US Caribbean ECAs. The US

in particular was annoyed and hostile to the

Russian inspired move at MEPC 65 and sought

to overturn it or retain grandfather rights to

control NOx emissions. A joint proposal by

the Marshall Islands and Norway to allow the

North American ECAs to operate as planned

from 2016, but for any future ECA to be

delayed until 2021, was one of the documents

under discussion.

In the event, it was a re-worked wording

that was finally accepted, although not without

opposition from some countries which felt it was

a hasty compromise with potential outcomes not

being properly considered. As a consequence,

the 1 January 2016 date for the

North American and US Caribbean

Sea ECAs are confirmed but for

future NECAs, ships would have to

comply with NOx Tier III standards

only if they are constructed on or

after the date of adoption of the

NECA, or a later date as may be

specified when designating a new

NECA, whichever is later.

Earlier in March, an attempt

by the EU to push for the Russian

resolution to be derailed by member

states acting in unison against it

was abandoned after support for

the action was not forthcoming.

At that time it was said that some

countries including Germany, Sweden and

Denmark were against stalling any IMO-backed

NOx Emission Control Area in the Baltic Sea.

However, at MEPC 66, Denmark, one of

the countries supporting the compromise

motion, believes that the door is now open for

some progress. After the decision, Denmark’s

minister for the environment, Kirsten

Brosbøll, was reported to have said that the

outcome could lead to a Baltic NECA being

established soon.

Under IMO rules such an ECA would

require application to be made to MEPC in

accordance with the procedures and criteria

in Appendix III of Annex VI. Where two

or more parties have a common interest in

a particular area, the regulations envisage

that they should formulate a coordinated

proposal, but whether Russia and other Baltic

states would play ball remains to be seen.

Even though the 2016 date for US waters

was confirmed, one type of vessel has been

allowed the five-year deferment: yachts up

to 500gt in size are not required to comply

with the Tier III levels until 2021 in order to

allow the industry time to develop optimised

selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems.

Other NOx-related decisions taken at MEPC

affecting shipping were adoption of amendments

to the NOx Technical Code concerning the use

of dual-fuel engines. The MEPC also approved

draft amendments to Marpol Annex VI regarding

engines solely fuelled by gaseous fuels, to clarify

that such engines should also be covered by the

Annex VI NOx regulations, with a view to adoption

at MEPC 67. An invitation for proposals for further

draft amendments to the NOx Technical Code for

inclusion of provisions on engines solely fuelled by

gaseous fuels, was issued.

The MEPC has set up correspondence

groups to consider the methodology for the

fuel oil availability model under which the

review of the availability of low sulphur fuels

for global operations will be carried out. Under

existing IMO rules on sulphur emissions, a

review must either be completed by 2018 or

deferred until 1 January 2025. The sulphur

content of fuel oil used on board ships is

required to be a maximum of 3.50

per cent falling to 0.50 per cent

from 1 January 2020.

MEPC provided details about

recent developments in the EU,

which decided that ships operating

in EU waters from 1 January 2020

would be required to use fuel oil

on board that met the 0.50 per

cent sulphur content standard,

regardless of the outcome of the

IMO’s fuel oil availability review.

The committee suggested that

MEPC could consider the pros

and cons of conducting an earlier

review and begin discussing its

scope. MP

NOx and SOx control

Superyachts of up to 500gt and over 24m long will not have to comply with the Tier III levels until 2021. Princess Iolanthe is 498gt and 45m long (credit: Mondo Marine)

IMO compromises on NOx

MEPC confirmed Tier III limits in the North American ECA from 1 January 2016 (credit: triplepundit.com)


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H eat exchangers play an important

role, not just in heating and cooling

but also in emissions control. One

example of such an application is the exhaust

gas recirculation (EGR) cooler developed

by GEA Heat Exchangers, which reduces a

ship’s emissions.

The company is a member of Germany’s

Blue Competence scheme, which is a

campaign for more efficient and climate-

friendly technologies run by the country’s

engineering federation, the VDMA. A

spokesman for GEA Heat Exchangers told

Marine Propulsion that being part of that

initiative is important for the company.

The VDMA’s initiative is a good example

of how industry can work together to

deliver sustainable solutions, he explained.

“Its efforts protect the environment with

innovative technologies and safeguard the

quality of life on our planet.”

As a contribution to this goal, GEA Heat

Exchangers’ EGR cooler is designed to reduce

NOx and SOx emissions from both two- and

four-stroke marine diesel engines, although

it has no impact on their efficiency.

The high pressures and temperatures

found in large diesel engines represent a

challenge for the structural design of exhaust

emission control, the company said. Adding

an inert gas – for example, by recirculating

some of the engine’s already-burnt exhaust

– reduces the production of NOx as the rapid

oxidation of fuel molecules is inhibited by

exhaust gas molecules.

This effect can be improved by cooling

the recirculated gas, but the cooler must

withstand harsh conditions: a temperature

gradient of more than 600°C, system-

related pressure fluctuations, vibrations

transmitted from the engine to the

cooler, and corrosion from the effects

of condensation in the exhaust gas. In

addition, the cooler must operate at a high

level of efficiency.

But the effort is worthwhile. The lower the

temperature of combustion, the smaller the

proportion of NOx in the engine’s emissions,

GEA Heat Exchangers pointed out. Its EGR

cooler can reduce exhaust gas temperatures

from as high as 700°C down to 50°C before

the exhaust gases are fed back into the

combustion air supply.

Space can also be a constraint so the

unit is compact, made from temperature-

and corrosion-resistant stainless steel. Its

finned-tube system, embedded in the water

passage structure, features newly-developed

fin geometry. The fins reduce the collection

of dirt and debris and create turbulence in

the gas flow, which results in heat transfer

over the entire surface, the company said.

In its latest generation, GEA Heat

Exchangers has added a scrubber before

the cooler to desulphurise the exhaust gas.

This injection of water also significantly

lowers the exhaust gas temperature to below

150°C before it enters the cooler enclosure.

During the cooling process, however, only

part of the scrubbing water evaporates, with

the rest hitting the finned-tube block at

great speed. “The newly developed compact

stainless steel finned-tube system is also

sufficiently resistant to this impact,” the

manufacturer reported. MP

GEA heat exchanger plays a role in German environmental engineering scheme

GEA backs German green initiative

heat exchangers

GEA Heat Exchangers’ exhaust gas recirculation cooler

Icebreaker gets new heat exchangersThe Finnish icebreaker Sisu was redelivered in October after a four-month overhaul to its sea water systems that included replacing 36 heat exchangers. The work was carried out by the Estonian shiprepairer SRC at its Tallinn yard.

It also exchanged 1,400m of corroded copper-nickel pipes for glass-reinforced epoxy alternatives and replaced lubrication oil filters, pumps and valves.

The heat exchangers were supplied by GEA Heat Exchangers and were fitted to the ship’s engines and generators, replacing cooling systems that the company had supplied more than 35

years before. The new units are GEA F-tube coolers,

which are described as having great thermal performance in a small space. Their compact design is the result of the use of elliptical tubes with cross-sections that promote effective flow with low pressure drop. Rectangular fins are slid over these tubes, which are metallically connected to the core tube by dip galvanising. The slight air-side pressure drop results in low operating costs for the fans, the manufacturer reported.

Sisu is part of the Finnish icebreaking and ice management company Arctia

Shipping’s fleet. A year earlier another Arctia vessel, Urho, had its heat exchangers replaced as part of a similar upgrading, which also included updating its electronics and automation systems.

The icebreaker Sisu has benefited from 36 new heat exchangers (credit: Andy Siitonen/Wikimedia)


heat exchangers

Corrosion forces heat exchanger exchangeA fleet of US oil spill response vessels (OSRVs) is benefiting from new Platecoil heat exchangers supplied by Tranter Heat Exchangers (Australia), replacing the existing coated mild steel pipe coils in the tank heaters which had been corroded by sea water.

The ships are operated by the Marine Spill Response Corp (MSRC), which describes itself as the largest dedicated oil spill response organisation in the USA.

MSRC’s Responder class OSRVs receive recovered material in their holds, where it is heated to accelerate the gravity separation of oil and water. Following separation, the OSRV crew shuts down the heating unless the weathered oil is very viscous. If it is, the heating is continued until the ship reaches port, in order to maintain a pumpable viscosity.

In a report, Tranter Heat Exchangers (Australia) explained that high heat transfer rates are a critical factor in the design and operation of tank and cargo hold heating applications. The company added that the high heat transfer rate of Platecoil prime surface heat exchanger banks increases efficiencies and reduces operational cost when compared to conventional heating coil design.

Each ship has four banks of

17-23 plates to heat the 4,000 bbl (about 635m3) capacity holds. Tranter engineered and prefabricated the replacement banks from Platecoil Style 40D panels in Type 304 stainless steel. Installation – which was carried out during a routine drydocking – was complicated by restricted access to the heaters’ locations, so the panels were prefabricated with inlet-outlet flanges and transported as separate pieces.

Once they had been moved into the hold, the panels were connected to flanged headers and secured within notched support frames using tie rods. This reduced shipyard labour from a major welding installation to a bolt-in installation, while also decreasing the overall capital cost of the project.

The company explained that in many hold heating installations, where standard vessel manways are present, the panels can be factory-prefabricated into a rigid, integral unit comprising manifold connections and support structures with integral feet. These complete assembled units can pass through standard manways to the cargo hold, where they are easily lowered into position and connected to the heating media distribution and return piping.

Hot gossip on Tranter’s forum

Heat exchanger vital for scrubber innovationGermany’s Saacke Marine Systems is a

recent entrant to the scrubber market

(Marine Propulsion, December 2013/January

2014) with its novel LMB-EGS scrubber.

This features dry separation of soot prior

to SOx removal with water. It uses a

ventilator-separator unit, which Saacke

has dubbed VentSep, to reduce particulate

matter by 97 per cent in the early stage

of exhaust gas purification and to reduce

contamination for all the other components

in the system.

One of those components is the heat

exchanger, which is positioned on the top

of the scrubber and receives soot-free gases

that still contain sulphur. It is cross-designed,

Saacke explained, so that exhaust gases that

enter the heat exchanger are cooled by the

cold exhaust from the scrubber. At the same

time the exhaust is heated up before passing

to the funnel, which eliminates the vapour

plume, said Saacke.

To remove the SOx, the gases are guided

via a channel that connects the heat

exchanger at the top to the scrubber at the

bottom. This channel is designed with wash

water nozzles, which are used to lower the

temperature of the gases and to act as the

first scrubbing stage.

Saacke Marine Systems received its first

order for the scrubber last year. Carl Büttner

Shipmanagement had the system fitted to its

four year old 15,300 dwt tanker Levana. The

installation was carried out in November and is

expected to pay for itself after two years.

Tranter is one of the world’s leading

manufacturers of plate heat exchangers and

has launched an online Heat Transfer Forum

to offer advice on the company’s products and

on wider questions about heat transfer. It was

introduced last September and aims to answer

questions within one business day.

“The heat transfer market is a very complex

field and we believe that people have a lot of

questions,” said Torbjörn Lantz, vice president of

Tranter Europe. “After 80 years within the heat

transfer business, we have gathered a broad

expertise. We want to take this opportunity to

share our competence and knowledge worldwide.”

Tranter’s Heat Transfer Forum is monitored

and secure, and registration is free. It can be

reached from the company’s website at www.

tranter.com or via https://forum.tranter.com.

The forum can also be accessed through smart

phones on Tranter’s mobile website, m.tranter.com. Tranter’s online forum

BWTS can gain from heat exchangersBallast water treatment systems (BWTSs)

are large consumers of power. Those that are

able to use waste heat as part of the process,

however, appear to eliminate the need to run

additional power generators.

These kinds of BWTS employ heat

exchangers to make use of otherwise waste

heat. Only one type-approved system, however,

uses heat as its treatment method. This is the

SeaSafe-3 from Australia’s Hi Tech Marine,

which claims to have had type approval since

1997, when it demonstrated its system aboard

the Australian bulk carrier Sandra Marie.

Using heat as a biocide has advantages

over other systems, the company believes. It

causes no mutations, there is no toxic residue

to dispose of and there are no dangerous

chemicals to be handled. As ballast is loaded,

it passes through a heat exchanger that is

connected to the main engine’s jacket water

cooling heat exchanger via a holding tank.

It can operate either in a flushing mode, in

which water is drawn in, passed through

the heat exchanger to the ballast tank and

discharged, or in a closed loop, in which the

ballast water is circulated between tank and

heat exchanger.

Hi Tech Marine may not have this

particular market to itself for much

longer, however. Danish company Bawat

offers a BWTS that uses a combination of

pasteurisation and deoxygenation to disinfect

the ballast water. It points out in its literature

that this is an in-tank method that makes

it possible for ship operators to treat ballast

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heat exchangers

Wärtsilä develops evaporator for LNG fuelLNG propulsion depends on heat exchangers.

Between the bunker tanks, where the fuel is

typically stored at -160°C, and the engine it has to

be warmed by a heat exchanger and regasified.

Such technology is not new – the same is

needed before LNG cargo can be distributed along

onshore pipelines – but systems for use on board

a vessel to deliver gas for use in a dual-fuel diesel

engine have different requirements.

One company that is focusing on this is

Wärtsilä. Its interest is clearly driven by the need

to offer fuel delivery systems for its range of dual-

fuel engines, which now include low speed units

launched last November.

Sören Karlsson, who is general manager

of supply management for Wärtsilä’s fuel gas

systems, explained to Marine Propulsion how

these heat exchangers, termed evaporators, are

built and operated.

They are typically made of stainless steel,

he said, since carbon steel loses its strength at

cryogenic temperatures. Their construction also

has to allow for shrinkage and expansion due to

the large temperature differences, which would

otherwise create high thermal loads.

For small duty LNG evaporators, water bath

evaporators are typically used, which consist of a

stainless steel coil immersed into a hot water bath.

That heat could come from steam, electricity or a

waste heat source, Mr Karlsson explained.

However, a water bath evaporator can be

quite large, which makes them unsuitable as

evaporators for engines the size of Wärtsilä’s.

Instead, the manufacturer typically uses shell

and tube heat exchangers, because of their

compactness. It has also, with its sub supplier,

developed a design to ensure a low pressure

drop and large contact surface on the LNG

side in order to achieve efficient superheating

of the gas.

To avoid the risk of freezing, ethylene glycol

is typically used as an intermediate heating

medium. This extracts waste heat from the

engine-cooling water systems.

Understanding cargo heating is an ‘urgent task’

››› believes this is more convenient since it

does not restrict normal ship operations in

port or require system upgrades.

Ballast water is drawn from the tank and

pasteurised using waste machinery heat, via a

heat exchanger. Here it is mixed with nitrogen

for deoxygenation. The ballast water is then

injected into the bottom of the tank through

rotary jet heads and fixed nozzles, to ensure

thorough mixing. By recirculating the ballast

water, the full tank volume is treated, the

company says. One benefit of the system, it

notes, is that it reduces corrosion in the tank.

A scale model of the system has been built

but no full scale installations have been made

and the system is not yet type-approved.

Although heat has only a small share of the

ballast water treatment market, researchers

have explored its potential and reported

encouraging potential if it is combined with

filtration. A paper by two Malaysian academics

presented at the International Conference

on Marine Technology in 2012 reported that

a system harnessing shipboard waste heat

would provide an economic solution for ballast

water treatment but, based on an analysis of

waste heat available on a crude oil tanker, a

complementing treatment method would be

necessary to treat high volumes.

They proposed a heat-filtration combination

system, in which sea water would circulate

as a secondary coolant to collect the heat but

would also be filtered in what they termed a

filtration-cum-heat exchanger, fitted in line

with the ballast system. Like the Hi Tech

Marine arrangement, this proposed system

would recirculate the ballast water during a

voyage, passing it through the filter and the

heat exchanger.

The authors estimated the operating

costs but said that the pumping costs would

be negligible as no changes in pumping

arrangements would be needed. Capital costs

would include the heat exchanger, filtration

units and extra piping. They quoted figures of

US$0.06-0.19 per tonne of treated water for the

filtration and US$0.056-0.17 per tonne for the

heat treatment system.

Wärtsilä’s dual-fuel system includes a shell and tube heat exchanger to regasify the LNG fuel (credit: Wärtsilä)

Understanding the heat exchange between a

tanker’s cargo heater and the oil around it can

have a big impact on capital and operating

costs for the heating system, according

to a paper published in December by the

International Journal of Current Engineering and

Technology. As a result, the paper’s introduction

notes, “the study of the influence of capacity

fluctuations on the heat transfer around a

horizontal tubular heater is one of the most

urgent tasks for transportation of high-

viscosity liquids by sea.”

The paper was written by Dr Abbas Alwi

Sakhir Abed, who is assistant professor in

the Engineering College at Iraq’s Al-Qadisiya

University. His work indicates that heat

transfer under dynamic conditions can range

from 1.5 to 4 times higher than when the oil is

static, when free convection prevails.

The paper develops equations that can be

used to predict the increase in heat transfer

when influenced by fluid movement caused by

the rolling characteristics of vessels. This will

enable optimisation of sizing of exchangers.

Initial tests were carried out in a laboratory

tank to verify heat transfer rates using a

cylindrical heater immersed in medical

Vaseline oil. With no rolling effect, and hence

free convection, the results achieved were

in close correlation to those derived from

numerical analyses. Further tests were then

conducted with varying amplitudes of oil

oscillation being introduced.

The results indicated three aspects of heat

transfer where magnitudes vary with the

degree of fluid movement. The first of these

is the influence of free convection under low

fluid oscillations. The second is when more

mixed convection is introduced as oscillations

increase and the third where more strongly

forced fluid movement has a dominant effect

on heat transfer.

The paper proposes equations that can be

more reliably used to predict heat transfer

rates which, in turn, can be used to evaluate

heat exchanger capacity requirements. MP

Read the paper via www.tinyurl.com/tank-heat

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condition & performance monitoring

More of the worldwide fleet has been

fitted with machinery sensors to allow

owners to use onboard data to improve

operational efficiency and enhance maintenance

procedures. The growing amount of data generated

by these networks of sensors means shipowners

need to employ more advanced analysis tools to

process the data into intelligent information. The

adoption of this information analytics is leading the

maritime industry into the industrial internet age.

Engineering Software Reliability Group (ESRG)

estimates that if the global fleet adopted industrial

internet technology, it could create up to US$20

billion of opportunities for owners, operators

and managers in reduced costs, fuel efficiency,

and increased asset uptime and reliability. This is

according to the report Bringing the industrial internet

to the marine industry and ships into the cloud, written

by ESRG’s president Ken Krooner and its general

manager Rob Bradenham.

With more newbuildings being equipped with

smarter machines and more robust technology,

that value-creation potential is projected to grow

at 15-20 per cent per year for the next five years.

“The benefits to marine stakeholders are significant.

Substantial fuel savings, reductions in maintenance

and repair costs, and greater assurance of

environmental compliance are the largest drivers,”

said Mr Krooner and Mr Bradenham in the report.

“Many marine organisations need to bolster

their technology and data analysis capabilities in

order to take advantage of these opportunities. Some

companies are already investing in data collection.

But often this means they are overwhelmed with

data, so the data can sometimes be ignored. Real-

time automated analytics on a vessel and on

shore are necessary to transform the raw data into

actionable information that can be used to make

better operational and maintenance decisions.”

To realise these opportunities, shipowners

should employ more comprehensive monitoring and

control systems, better broadband communications,

and software for analysing huge volumes of data.

However, there are significant technical challenges,

especially the huge volume of data generated,

that will affect the adoption of industrial internet

technology. The huge volume of sensor data is one

of them. New vessels have more than 1,000 data

points, creating 2.5 billion pieces of data over a

month. Therefore, a fleet of 100 of these vessels

would produce 3 trillion data points per year.

If analysed properly, this data could be used to

operate and maintain equipment at higher performance

levels and lower costs, by adopting condition-based

maintenance (CBM) strategies. Analytic software can

integrate a variety of data sources in multiple formats

and use automated algorithms to turn data into

actionable information. The information then needs

to be available through multiple channels, including

Industrial internet technology and key performance indicators can help shipowners optimise onboard maintenance programmes and improve fuel efficiency

by Martyn Wingrove

Sensor networks can enhance ship performance

Condition based maintenance systems, such as those provided by ESRG, can cut operating costs through better communications (credit: ESRG)

US$20 BILLION INDUSTRIAL INTERNET VALUE CREATION IN MARITIME INDUSTRY

Estimated annual value creation for 2013 global fleet, in US$ billion

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Additional Compliance and Voyage

ManagementSystems Data

Main PropulsionOEM Monitoring

Auxiliary and attachedSystems OEM Monitoring


web-based interfaces, mobile devices, intelligent

reports and enterprise applications.

Operators adopting CBM strategies can

improve vessel uptime, reduce unplanned repairs,

manage drydockings more effectively and reduce

maintenance costs, said the ESRG report authors.

For example, container ship operators could improve

their equipment and scheduling reliability, and

reduce fuel costs. They could use the onboard data

to operate ships more efficiently, such as optimising

the configuration of generators or engines. They

could optimise the vessel’s power systems based

on the actual electrical load and the performance of

specific systems on the ships.

This is particularly relevant if ships are carrying

large numbers of reefer containers that have high

power requirements for refrigerating cargoes.

Operators could also use the data to reduce vessel

speed to meet scheduling requirements and

minimise total fuel consumption, including fuel

needed to run the generators and propulsion. This

would reduce bunker costs, which at current fuel

prices could be considerable over several months of

operation, said ESRG.

It is relatively easy to install industrial internet

technology on a fleet of newbuildings, but far more

difficult on older vessels. Owners would need to do

a major retrofit of these vessels with sensors and

integrated networks and updated communications

equipment. Of a global fleet of around 100,000

vessels, approximately 20,000 already have some

of the technology infrastructure on board and

could be upgraded fairly easily to having industrial

internet on board, said ESRG. This is expected to

rise by 3,000 vessels per year as most newbuildings

incorporate this technology infrastructure.

Some owners have adopted industrial

internet and CBM. For example, Bernhard

Schulte Shipmanagement retrofitted container

ship Gabriel Schulte with sensors and a data

network. The vessel has integrated main diesel

engines, four generators, torque meter, fuel flow

meters, ballast and fuel management and lube

oil systems, oily water system, GPS and ecdis.

The data from all these systems is available on

shore for analysis and users can turn the data

into actionable information. This enables the

master, chief engineer, technical superintendent

and owner to have information on the health

and performance of the ship, including fuel

consumption, power generation, equipment

condition and environmental compliance.

Bernhard Schulte chief engineer Guenter Sell

said the technology improves ship performance

and reduces operating costs. “Not only am I able

to assess the equipment performance over time

with qualified data, I am also able to have more

constructive discussions with the land-based

technical superintendents. For example, after

creating the visibility I was able to work through

a long term sensor problem with the technical

superintendent to get it resolved.”

HGO InfraSea Solutions has installed sensors

on various systems on its latest windfarm

construction vessel Innovation. This vessel was

launched with a technology backbone that

integrates four asynchronous thruster motors,

four azimuth propellers, three motors and bow

thrusters, six diesel engines, electrical jack-up

system, bridge control system, DP, radar systems

and ecdis all linked through the ship’s local area

network. MP

Data can boost ship performanceWith good quality onboard data, operators can identify or calculate key performance indicators (KPIs), which they can then use to improve their operational efficiencies and competitiveness. In competitive shipping markets it is important for shipowners to highlight their energy efficient operations and safety records, through KPIs. The next generation of ship deliveries are designed to be as much as 20 per cent more efficient, but without the KPIs this will be difficult to demonstrate.

Individual companies can use the information to benchmark vessels in their own fleets, but the information is unlikely to be available from competitors. The newly restructured KPI Association (KPIA) aims to rectify this. The association has been set up to collate and correlate industry-specific data on behalf of the whole maritime sector. It manages the industry-wide KPI project, which was originally created by InterManager.

During this year, KPIA is being restructured to promote safety at sea and best practice. It aims to appoint a global network of regional certified consultants to be the first point of contact for shipping companies and maritime organisations. The consultants will advise shipowners why they should introduce KPIs, said the association’s executive director Helle Gleie. “Having a global network of consultants will enable KPIA

to advise the shipping industry in the use of performance indicators and statistics, as well as giving us a vital point of contact to receive feedback and inspiration from the maritime sector.”

There will be an expert group within KPIA incorporating representatives from key maritime organisations and companies. This group will develop and adapt KPIs to meet emerging industry requirements and expectations. The group will work with industry academics

to identify relevant trends and correlations in the data as well as to analyse the feedback from shipowners and maritime organisations. The association expects this will lead to an improvement in performance efficiency, maritime safety and environmental standards.

Ms Gleie expects that the restructured organisation will attract more shipowners to join the KPI project. “Many companies have struggled when deciding if, when or how to implement shipping KPIs, or have not known how to collect and share this information. Our new structure will enable us to assist with this challenge and spread understanding of how to gather this information to secure meaningful, future focused and commercially beneficial results.”

At the start of 2014, a total of 2,267 vessels worldwide were supplying KPI data to the project’s online database. “We are confident that the new structure will make a difference to its users and the industry as a whole. Only by working together during times of fast change and by sharing knowledge, can the shipping industry develop responsibly and financially with the desired speed,” said Ms Gleie.• The KPI project can be accessed by clients through a web-based system developed and maintained by Cyprus-based IT specialist SoftImpact: www.shipping-kpi.org

Helle Gleie (KPI Association): “Having a global network of consultants will enable us to advise the shipping industry in the use of performance indicators and statistics”

http://www.shipping-kpi.org


condition & performance monitoring

Case study: vibration monitoring via satelliteTwo ships operated by United European Car Carriers (UECC) have been fitted with equipment to monitor the vibration behaviour of their engine gearboxes.

The systems have been installed in their enginerooms by Schaeffler (UK) which is also providing exception-based remote monitoring services via a VSAT link. Schaeffler told Marine Propulsion that this provides UECC with an early warning system for potential gearbox failures. It also generates useful diagnostics and trend information that the operator can give to class society inspectors during ship audit inspections.

These reports, Schaeffler said, eliminate the need for time consuming, one-off gearbox inspections, which cost significant sums and cause costly delays.

Each of the ships – Autostar and Autosun – is fitted with Schaeffler’s eight-channel FAG DTECT X1s vibration monitoring system, set up to monitor four vibration points on each of the two main engine gearboxes. A panel PC displays the vibration data from each gearbox and the systems are connected to the ship’s VSAT communications system.

UK-based company Hargreaves Marine, Schaeffler (UK)’s partner for the marine industry, was responsible for specifying and installing the equipment, along with providing the remote

monitoring service. The systems have been in operation for a year, during which vibration data has been sent ashore every 12 hours via satellite link and cloud server. If an alarm is generated, shore staff can see which bearing on which gearbox was responsible, and decide whether action is required by the ship’s engineers.

Chief engineers at UECC receive a monthly report showing the gearbox vibration data and measuring points. This information can be collated into annual reports or five-yearly class audits.

Jim Belsham, technical

superintendent at UECC, is responsible for the remote condition monitoring installations. “When a ship’s gearbox reaches 60,000 to 70,000 hours in service the last thing we want to do is to replace all the bearings inside the gearbox that are potentially still in good condition,” he said. “Around two years ago we therefore looked for an alternative solution.

“So far, we have not found any unusual problems, but the system constantly reassures us that the gearboxes are not going to suddenly fail and cause costly downtime.”

Data upgrade improves ship performanceAn upgrade to part of the automation system

on Royal Caribbean International’s Allure of the

Seas has given the ship 6,500 more data points

and increased its data storage to seven years

(up from one year).

Kongsberg has installed its Information

Management System (K-IMS) to replace the

history station within the existing Kongsberg

Maritime K-Chief automation system, which

now has 76 remote control units controlling

over 40,000 data points. The upgrade,

Kongsberg said, provides Royal Caribbean with

extensive data and statistics with which to

improve vessel operational performance.

K-IMS has a suite of applications within

a web portal that is available both on board

and on the Royal Caribbean office network in

Florida, USA. K-IMS data can be accessed on

board using tablets and is displayed on a large

screen in the engine control room.

It also provides a report each day showing

what is consuming the most power, to help decide

which machinery can be shut off to save fuel. MP

Infrared fuel sensor checks fuel qualityFuel savings of up to 5 per cent are claimed

if a fuel quality sensor is fitted as part of

a fuel management strategy, claims the

device’s manufacturer, CMR Group.

It described its Near Infrared Intelligent

Sensor (NIRIS) as the world’s first

commercial high horsepower diesel fuel

quality sensor and explained that it detects

fuel parameters by applying advanced

hydrocarbon profiling that measures

the molecular structure of fuel. “This

allows real-time optimisation of injection,

combustion and post-treatment for all

types of fuel, including bio-fuels,” it said in

a statement.

When used in conjunction with an

engine control unit “NIRIS can help to

significantly reduce fuel consumption and

engine emission levels,” it said. Further

benefits claimed for the unit include

lower fuel analysis costs, correct engine

performance and the overall alleviation of

damage to components due to inferior or

low-grade fuels.

NIRIS is based around an infrared

spectrometer that performs continuous

analysis of a range of parameters including

the cetane index, density and percentage

of biodiesel. It provides information that

engineers can use for assessing fuel quality.

The NIRIS unit can be retrofitted anywhere between the low pressure and high pressure fuel pumps (credit: CMR)

The control box receives information from eight vibration sensors (credit: Schaeffler (UK))


S hanghai ship design house Shanghai

Ship Research and Design Institute

(SDARI), part of the China State

Shipbuilding Cooperation, and Finnish maritime

software developer NAPA are extending their

co-operation in a new project involving ship

performance monitoring and applying optimised

design techniques to real ships in service. The

agreement was signed during the Marintec

event in Shanghai in December.

The agreement extends an existing

co-operation arrangement that includes the

application of NAPA software to SDARI’s ship

design processes and NAPA’s Loading Computer,

which is said to enhance safe operation and

maximise a vessel’s cargo capacity.

The new agreement is in response to

industry demands for improved vessel

performance and the associated need for tools

to provide real time performance monitoring

to optimise operational efficiency during the

lifecycle of vessels.

NAPA president Juha Heikinheimo told

Marine Propulsion that the two companies have

been co-operating since 2000, with the first

joint project involving loading computers.

The basis for the latest product is a 3D

ship model. NAPA uses the design model

created by SDARI to perform optimisation

work and the in-service data can then be

linked to the design to show how it was

actually performing, with analysis of specific

parameters such as fuel economy.

“The main driver is that ship operators

want to reduce fuel consumption and

maximise revenues by optimising routeing

and operations with real time monitoring.

There are currently thousands of ships

trading without any proper monitoring of

their performance,” Mr Heikinheimo said.

He added that using this tool increases

safety and can raise vessels’ secondhand

values and charter rates if the ship’s

performance and fuel consumption is known

and independently verified. “Charterers

might pay a premium to reflect the benefit of

proven low fuel consumption.”

Mr Heikinheimo said: “Broadening the

scope of our partnership enables us to serve

the shipowners and operators even better by

helping them to monitor and analyse actual

ship performance. [They] have a significant

savings potential of up to 30 per cent, which

can be achieved with better designs and more

efficient, well planned, monitored, analysed

and optimised operations. NAPA solutions

offer comprehensive tools for efficient

operations and, in addition, a possibility to

prove the superiority of the modern eco-

designs and provide valuable feedback to the

design process.”

SDARI president Hu Jintao commented

to Marine Propulsion: “NAPA’s performance

monitoring tool can assist at the design stage and

it is also important to get feedback about how the

ship is actually performing in different sea states.

This will inform future designs.”

It is essential that designers get

feedback from actual ships in operation and

particularly in a loaded condition, he added.

"Sea trials are done in ballast conditions and

relatively calm sea states.”

He said that results from the system could

result in recommendations for retrofitting.

“Currently we get data feedback from only

a very small proportion of ships built to our

designs. The tool can be used to verify claims

by other suppliers, such as coatings and other

equipment for fuel savings and efficiency

improvements on an objective basis and

this will also help suppliers to verify their

claims. It is also useful for educating crews

in efficient operations.”

He spoke of the two companies’

longstanding co-operation, which means “we

can offer speedy delivery to clients for new

projects. We have been using NAPA tools

for many years, which improve calculation

efficiency for different ship types and in daily

work. From 2001 we decided we would do

that for loading computers which saves time

in getting data validated. The NAPA loading

computer is similar and can transfer data

with output no different.”

He has a high regard for SDARI’s vessels.

“[They] are already designed to industry-

leading standards, but in order to increase

competitiveness in an industry increasingly

focused on cutting operating costs, we

hope to introduce NAPA’s performance

monitoring solutions to demonstrate the

superior operating efficiency of our designs,”

he said. MP

Chinese and Finnish companies extend their collaboration to include vessel performance monitoring

Co-operation to enhance performance monitoring

Hu Jintao (SDARI) and Juha Heikinheimo (NAPA) shake hands on their agreement

SDARI updates ‘Dolphin’ conceptAlso at Marintec SDARI and DNV GL outlined their latest Green Dolphin 575 handymax bulk carrier design. This is a development of their previous Green Dolphin 38 version, incorporating greater fuel efficiency.

The Green Dolphin 575 is designed to comply with expected future emission regulations, featuring a number of propulsion options. These include exhaust gas cleaning systems or dual-fuel operation with LNG. The core design

has an efficient Tier II long-stroke, low-speed main engine and a large-diameter slow-rotating propeller. As a result, main engine fuel consumption is about 22.8 t/day with a 15 per cent sea margin.

SDARI chairman Hu Jintao confirmed that the SDARI Green Dolphin 38 bulker design has achieved 44 firm orders plus 36 options spread among 10 shipyards. “I expect most options to be exercised as ship prices are now rising and I expect total orders to reach 100 ships.”


Helios project

T he Helios project was established to

develop a research platform for an

electronically controlled, two-stroke,

low-speed, marine diesel engine that operates

via a direct injection of LNG in the form of

compressed natural gas (CNG). It was led by

MAN Diesel & Turbo, which has developed

a dual diesel/gas fuelled engine, the ME-GI

(M-type, electronically controlled, gas

injection) engine.

MAN Diesel & Turbo presented the results

of the project at a conference in Copenhagen

at the end of November 2013, at which Lars

Ryberg Juliussen, senior manager at MAN

Diesel & Turbo’s Diesel Research Centre, told

Marine Propulsion: “The project worked better

than expected. The project handling was very

smooth, we are very satisfied with the result

that we obtained and we have been successful

in getting orders.”

Eight other partners participated in the

initiative: TGE Marine Gas Engineering,

materials technology company Sandvik

Powdermet, Germanischer Lloyd and a range

of universities based in Denmark, Sweden and

Germany, including Lund University and the

University of Erlangen.

The aim behind the project was clear: “We

wanted to make available an engine for using gas

that is of the same type that large commercial

vessels are using today: two-stroke engines

with a large propeller and direct propulsion

without reduction gear,” Mr Juliussen told

Marine Propulsion. Indeed, while gas-propelled

four-stroke engines have been available in the

marketplace for a few years, Helios’ result was

the first gas-powered two-stroke ship engine to

be launched.

The project saw MAN Diesel & Turbo

retrofit an electronically-controlled two-stroke,

4T50ME-X marine diesel research engine to gas

operation. This engine has four cylinders, with

a bore of 0.5m and a stroke of 2.2m. It delivers

approximately 7MW at 123 rpm.

Electronic control was decided upon because

this allows the engine to be optimised more

efficiently than by using mechanical control,

Mr Juliussen said. “Using an electronically-

controlled engine allows more flexibility in

how you time the gas injection,” he explained.

“This means that the engine can be optimised

efficiently over the whole load range. If the

engine is mechanically controlled, you have to

make some compromises, as it only optimises at

one load point.”

The gas-powered research engine was

benchmarked against the same engine running

on diesel oil, and the aim was to ensure that the

engine reacted exactly the same when running

on gas as it did when diesel was deployed. “This

is important for ship operators, as it means that

they have the same benefits running on gas

as they do on diesel and can use the engine in

exactly the same way, no matter which form of

fuel they choose,” Mr Juliussen said.

Highlighting the major challenges and

issues that the project uncovered, Mr Juliussen

said: “The challenge was to create a safe

control system for the injection of gas and to

analyse the combustion process required for

this, to ensure and verify that it takes place as

it is anticipated.”

This was possible by the use of new

technology for visualising the combustion

process. Cameras were placed in the combustion

chamber, enabling researchers to look into the

engine and watch the combustion process. “This

was important as by watching it, we could make

the combustion process as efficient as possible

and ensure it happened as it was supposed to,”

Mr Juliussen said.

Explaining why it was decided to use LNG

in its compressed form, CNG, rather than as

a liquid, he explained that for liquid LNG,

a temperature of -165 degrees was needed.

“This is not an easy temperature to keep,” Mr

Juliussen commented. “It is much simpler to

use LNG in the gas form.”

A major consideration for deploying CNG

was the requirement for technology that could

hold the gas at the pressure that was needed

by the engine. A fuel gas supply system was

provided by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine

Engineering that was based on a high pressure

cryogenic pump system. It consists of a cryogenic

storage tank, a feed pump, suction drum, high

A three-year EU-funded project to develop an LNG-fuelled two-stroke engine has concluded. Now the focus turns to other forms of gas

by Rebecca Moore

EU project supports LNG two-stroke programme

Lars Ryberg Juliussen (MAN Diesel & Turbo): “We originally targeted the conversion of LNG tankers, but the first order was for container ships”

Helios helped develop the ME-GI dual-fuel (LNG and diesel) engine and TOTE has ordered them for two newbuilds (credit: General Dynamics/NASSCO)



pressure cryogenic pump, pulsation damper,

vaporiser and a gas flow/pressure/temperature

control system.

The cryogenic centrifugal pump supplies the

LNG from the cryogenic storage tank to a

suction drum at the inlet of the cryogenic high

pressure pump. This pressurises the LNG to the

required pressure. The vaporiser is connected to

the pump outlet and the LNG is heated to 45°C,

vaporising it to form CNG. The ME-GI control

system supplies a gas pressure set point to the

gas supply system depending on engine load.

Highlighting the importance of the research

project when it came to the gas supply system,

Mr Juliussen said it was important for MAN

Diesel & Turbo to be able to take control of it for

safety reasons, “as it meant that safety was in

our hands at all times. We could control this, so

there was no chance of any kind of failure. There

was no random development of the system, as

we could test it and verify it to be assured that it

was working as it must do.”

Another important safety element was the

fact that the fuel lines were double walled, in

order to prevent gas leakage in the engineroom.

The space between the two walls was ventilated

so that a sensor placed in that area could detect

any gas leaks.

Elsewhere, the inclusion of a gas composition

sensor allowed the engine to be optimised to

the actual condition of the gas. “The engine can

run on any quality of natural gas, as long as the

sensor tells the engine the calorific value of the

gas at any time,” Mr Juliussen explained. He

pointed out the quality of the gas could change

quite significantly throughout the voyage of an

LNG tanker so the sensor tells the engine control

unit the calorific value of the gas and, based on

this, it calculates how much gas to inject in order

to have the optimum performance.

Once the conversion of the gas engine

was completed, it was benchmarked against

operation on diesel oil. The conclusions were

extremely positive: NOx emission levels of the

ME-GI gas engine are about 25 per cent lower

than on diesel oil operation given comparable

engine operating conditions, while CO2

emissions have been slashed by 23 per cent.

Direct injection of gas also results in low

methane slip. Mr Juliussen commented: “While

the sulphur content is the most obvious benefit,

a low methane slip is a main contributor to low

emission values.”

Since December 2012, 20 ME-GI gas engines

have been ordered for gas tankers and container

ships, including for the US container lines

Matson Navigation and TOTE and the LNG

operator Teekay LNG Partners.

Mr Juliussen revealed that 50 more orders

would be coming through in the near future.

He told conference delegates: “We originally

targeted the conversion of LNG tankers, but the

first order was for container ships, which was a

little bit of a surprise for us. But because of the

market conditions, gas is an attractive fuel of the

future.” He added: “US operators like TOTE have

to operate in Emission Control Areas (ECA) and

gas is available in the US at a relatively low cost,

so this is the cheapest way to use a fuel with

low sulphur.”

TOTE ordered the dual-fuel 8L70ME-GI

engine for two 3,100 teu container ships that

San Diego shipyard NASSCO is building. It also

has an option for possibly three more vessels.

The first ship is expected to be delivered by the

fourth quarter of 2015, with the second ship

expected by the first quarter of 2016.

Matson has placed an order for two MAN

Diesel & Turbo 7S90ME-GI dual-fuel engines,

with options for a further three vessels. The

engines will be manufactured by MAN Diesel

& Turbo's licensee Hyundai Heavy Industries

and will be able to use heavy fuel oil, marine

diesel oil or LNG as fuel. MAN Diesel & Turbo

said that they are the largest dual-fuel engines

ever ordered in terms of power output, with

each engine capable of 42,700kW. The vessels

are being constructed by Aker Philadelphia

Shipyard and are slated for delivery in the third

and fourth quarters of 2018.

Meanwhile, Teekay LNG Partners has placed

an order for two LNG carriers, each powered

by a pair of 5G70ME-GI engines, with an

option for three further ships. The ships will be

constructed by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine

Engineering and are due to be delivered in the

first half of 2016.

The ME-GI engine can also be retrofitted;

since the conference, the first such order has

been announced, to convert the engine on

a Qatari LNG carrier (see page 100). While

retrofitting the engine could in many cases

be more complex and costly than fitting it on

a newbuild, this will not always the case. “If

you retrofit an LNG carrier, you have the gas

tanks already available on-board, which is an

advantage as then you only need to convert the

engines to gas,” Mr Juliussen said.

While the Helios project has been completed,

developments are still being continued. MAN

Diesel & Turbo is already working on a design

that can be used with Liquid Petroleum Gas

(LPG), which is not currently used as a fuel for

ships. Mr Juliussen said that the benefits of

using it included that the gas has a low sulphur

content and could be cheaper to use than low

sulphur oil.

Here, the engine’s design is being adapted

slightly to suit the different type of gas. While

the control system is the same, Mr Juliussen

said that because LPG was being used in liquid

format (heated to 20°C) rather than the gas

format of CNG, a pressure booster system is used

to inject it, rather than the common rail system

currently used. Mr Juliussen estimated that it

is possible that the LPG-operated engine could

be in use by the end of 2015. While CNG would

be the preferred solution for large vessels, LPG

could be a solution for smaller vessels, as well as

for tankers that carry LPG. MP

•More details of the Helios project, including

presentations from the November conference,

are available at http://helios-fp7.eu/

The Helios project involved converting an electronically-controlled 4T50ME-X two-stroke, low speed research engine to gas operation


K Y M A E-mail: [email protected] - Web: www.kyma.no

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fuels & lubes

Reliable sources show that known oil

and gas reserves have steadily risen by

approximately 60 per cent since 1992,

according to a recent assessment by Lloyd’s

Register Marine’s lead project engineer for

machinery, John Bradshaw.

Demand is also growing, but there is

no reason to panic about oil and gas, he

believes; it is generally not understood

that elemental carbon and hydrogen can

be reformed into almost any synthesised

hydrocarbon fuel using existing technology.

Oil remains the dominant marine fuel

and, through clean emissions technology,

will continue to compete against the newer

fuels entering shipping, he predicted.

Interest in alternative fuels is stimulating

interest in alternative energy conversion

technologies, including gas turbines,

batteries and fuel cells, Mr Bradshaw noted.

There is some uncertainty over future fuel

trends, however; market fragmentation –

with operators selecting solutions fitting

their own needs – is likely, perhaps resulting

in multiple fuel policies within an

operator’s fleet.

There is no ‘one size fits all’ best solution,

he concluded. LR expects to see continued

strong growth in the LNG fuel sector, with

oil retaining a large overall bunker market

share. Alternatives, such as methanol, bio-

diesel and hydrocarbon gases including

LPG, will gain traction while more radical

alternatives, such as hydrogen and nuclear,

should not be discounted.

His assessment included a review of some

of the leading alternatives to oil and gas and

their likely future development.

• Biofuel use is rising; fatty acid methyl ester

(FAME) bio-diesel is widely available but

increasing resistance by society will make

next-generation algae-derived bio-oils much

more attractive.

• Methanol is generally sourced from

natural gas feedstocks but, with renewable

feedstock being available, has great

potential as a clean fuel. Although it is

toxic and flammable, fuel handling and risk

management for methanol is simpler than

for LNG as it is not a cryogenic liquid.

• Nuclear energy is mature, clean and reliable

but its acceptance faces significant political,

regulatory and societal challenges.

• Renewable energy, such as wind and solar,

will augment traditional gas or oil fuels but

are unlikely to replace them.

• Hydrogen has traditionally been energy-

intensive to produce in large quantities

and risk management is challenging but

it is potentially both clean and abundant.

If efforts to reduce the cost of generating

hydrogen are successful, then it could

become the holy grail of energy: a cheap,

clean and abundant fuel.

In the longer term, added LR’s global

technology leader Ed Fort, hydrogen offers

the prospect of true zero-emission power

generation. While the operation of internal

combustion engines on hydrogen is possible,

and has been demonstrated, it is unlikely

that the evolution of IC engine technology

would extend to operation on hydrogen.

Instead, should hydrogen become a viable

marine fuel in terms of cost and availability,

it may be expected that fuel cell technology

would be the choice for power generators of

the future. Fuel cells are not constrained by

the efficiency limits of the otto and diesel

thermodynamic cycles and offer significantly

higher efficiencies from solid state, silent

and vibration-free systems.

LR, which can claim extensive experience

with marine fuel cell technology, is currently

engaged in a number of development

projects, including an evaluation of both

onboard hydrogen generation and low

temperature hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Maersk Line is primed to test and purchase biofuel in 2015 when tougher controls on sulphur content increase the cost of fuel oil, reported the Danish shipping group’s climate and environmental manager Jacob Sterling.

“We use 10 million tonnes of bunker fuel a year for our ships. Instead of buying expensive low-sulphur oil in 2015 we

would equally like to buy some kind of low quality second generation biofuels, where we also get a carbon dioxide advantage.”

Maersk Line is preparing to try out different types of biofuel and has an agreement with an Antwerp-based company that produces biofuels from lignin, a residue of producing bioethanol from straw. The group is also involved in

a large Danish research project, in which companies such as Topsoe, Novozymes and MAN Diesel & Turbo aim to develop a sulphur-free alternative to marine diesel oil from lignin.

“We believe that biofuels will be the successor to marine diesel in the long term, and do not really see any other options,” asserts Mr Sterling.

No option but biofuels for the leading container ship operator

(photo: Port of Felixstowe)

GLEAMS pursues the potential of glycerolA byproduct of the expanding biofuel industry,

glycerol (commonly glycerine) is proposed

as a safe, sustainable, low emissions and

low carbon fuel for marine diesel engines.

The attractions are summarised by the

UK Technology Strategy Board’s GLEAMS

(Glycerine Fuel for Engines and Marine

Sustainability) project as:

• burns with a higher efficiency than diesel fuel

• very low NOx emissions, no sulphur ›››


Maersk plans future with biofuels

LR assesses alternatives to oil

fuels & lubes

Gas fuel option for Q-Max LNG carrier

More mass flow metering in Singapore

A project commissioned by Qatari shipping

company Nakilat and the LNG producers

Qatargas and RasGas calls for the conversion

of a low speed diesel engine to burn natural

gas as an alternative to heavy fuel oil. One of

the company’s large Q-Max LNG carriers will

benefit from the retrofit, reportedly the first of

an MAN B&W two-stroke engine in service to

ME-GI (Gas Injection) specification.

The modification – assigned to the Nakilat-

Keppel Offshore & Marine yard in Qatar’s

port of Ras Laffan – will enable the engine

to handle cargo boil-off gas and meet global

emission regulations. The cleaner fuel is also

expected to allow longer times-between-

overhaul for the engine as well as providing

fuel supply flexibility in reaction to market

changes. Using boil-off gas as a bunker fuel

source in LNG shipping has hitherto been

confined to tonnage powered by steam

turbine/boiler plant or medium speed dual/tri-

fuel diesel-electric machinery.

The 266,000m3 Q-Max LNGCs are powered

by twin MAN B&W 6-cylinder S70ME-C diesel

engines which can be converted to gas-burning

GI status.

• LNG carrier newbuildings are now being

specified with MAN Diesel & Turbo’s MAN

B&W ME-GI low speed engines allowing cargo

boil-off gas to be burned as fuel.

Among the references, twin five-cylinder

G70ME-GI packages will drive 173,400m3

carriers ordered by Teekay LNG Partners, while

twin seven-cylinder G70ME-GI engines will

power a pair of 176,300m3 carriers booked by

Knutsen OAS. The latter plants are expected to

yield fuel savings of more than 30 tonnes of gas

per day over an equivalent medium speed dual-

fuel diesel-electric installation at a normal ship

speed of 15-17 knots.

• Burckhardt Compression reports growing

business for its fully balanced Laby-GI

compressor to serve LNG carriers specified

with MAN B&W dual-fuel two-stroke engines.

The Swiss designer’s compressors will inject

cargo boil-off gas into the ME-GI engine for

use as a fuel; an onboard facility also enables

boil-off gas to be reliquefied and returned to

the cargo tanks.

Laby-GI compressors can handle LNG boil-

off gas at suction temperatures down to -1700C

without pre-heating the gas or pre-cooling the

compressor. A gas-tight housing eliminates gas

emissions and losses to the environment.

Preparing to go for gas: one of Nakilat’s Q-Max LNGC fleet

››› emissions and virtually no particulate

matter emissions

• non-toxic, water soluble and almost impossible

to ignite accidentally.

Glycerol-burning engine technology is

reportedly proven in combined heat and power

plant, and retrofits for existing diesel engines are

said to be readily executed, with modifications only

required to the external engine aspiration system.

A relatively low energy density compared

with fossil fuels is partially offset by the fuel’s

increased efficiency; and while a greater volume

of glycerol needs to be carried for a given range

its low hazard nature would allow additional

storage in the hull spaces of many vessels.

Glycerol is applicable for use in diesel

engines of any size but until a comprehensive

distribution network is established GLEAMS

will concentrate on markets where limited

volumes of fuel are required and bunkering

typically occurs at a single location. The potential

early candidates are identified as offshore

support vessels, ferries, survey and pilot boats,

fishing craft, dredgers, marine police and small

commercial and leisure vessels.

The benign characteristics of glycerol are

considered particularly attractive for operators in

environmentally sensitive areas.

Participating in the GLEAMS project are

Aquafuel Research, Gardline Marine Sciences,

Lloyd’s Register EMEA, Marine South East and

Redwing Environmental. Potential end-users

and other interested parties can engage with the

project through an online forum by joining the

GLEAMS Interest Group.

Dutch tug trials Shell GTL fuelRoyal Boskalis’s Rotterdam-based Smit Elbe

recently became the first tug in the Netherlands

to be fuelled with Shell GTL (gas-to-liquids). The

vessel will use GTL for six months to determine

whether the fuel can effect a sizeable reduction

in emissions without engine modifications.

Emission measurements will be taken at

regular intervals, the pilot project providing

data for a wider emissions reduction policy for

the port of Rotterdam.

GTL, a liquid fuel produced from natural gas

and converted into synthetic diesel by chemical

transformation, is claimed to produce much

lower emissions of NOx, SOx, particulates

and black smoke than regular diesel. The

hydrocarbon fuel contains no sulphur, aromatics

or toxic constituents. Blending 20 per cent of

GTL diesel with conventional diesel reportedly

results in a fuel that exceeds almost all

international environmental standards for 2015.

Built in 2007, Smit Elbe is powered by twin

Caterpillar 3516B TA high speed engines, each

delivering 1,839kW and arranged to drive an

azimuthing propulsion thruster with a fixed

pitch propeller.

Another two ExxonMobil-chartered bunker

tankers in Singapore are now available with

the group's own mass flow metering system,

taking its Maritime and Port Authority

(MPA)-approved fleet to three vessels. Ship

operators can reportedly save up to three hours

and US$7,000 per delivery, with increased

transparency during bunkering.

ExxonMobil’s system was developed in

collaboration with the MPA and Singapore’s

Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board

to provide improved accuracy and efficiency,

significant cost and time savings, enhanced system

integrity and higher traceability and transparency.

Efficiency is raised throughout the

bunkering process by measuring fuel mass

directly and reducing the uncertainties

associated with density, temperature and other

variables such as tank geometry. The supplier

estimated cost savings can be achieved by

measuring these variables in real time, which

also avoids human calculation errors associated

with traditional tank dipping.

Measurement data is also logged

throughout, offering a transparent and accurate

record of fuel transferred to the tanks. MP


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bunker bulletin

World bunker prices

Prices are latest (mid-range) listed in US$ as at 21 March 2014MTD = delivered EXW = ex-wharf PP = posted price

Information supplied by Stuart Murray – Bunker BrokerWilhelmsen Premier Marine Fuels Ltdt: +44 1322 282 940e: [email protected]: stuartm_wpmf

EUROPE 380cst 3.5% 380cst 1% 180cst 3.5% MDO MGORotterdam MTD 578 655 608 N/A 865Antwerp MTD 578 655 608 N/A 865Gibraltar MTD 595 675 629 N/A 945Falmouth MTW 612-614 676-679 662-663 N/A 933-943Gothenburg MTD 587 665 622 965 935Las Palmas MTW 608 693 630 930 940Malta MTD 586 715 (N/A) 605 N/A 902Piraeus MTD 593-598 690 622-627 N/A 911-916St. Petersburg MTD* 410 490 440 N/A 840

FAR EAST 380cst 3.5% 380cst 1% 180cst 3.5% MDO MGOSingapore MTD 590-600 680 608-615 N/A 895-915Tokyo MTD* 657-659 971 667-669 943-948 N/ABusan MTD 629-632 702-712 660-663 N/A 946-951Hong Kong MTD 602-608 734-736 614-616 N/A 910-917Shanghai MTW 625-627 793-798 666-670 N/A 1062-1068

Latest prices WTI BRENT GAS OIL Close $98.90 (-$1.47) $106.45 (+$0.60) $888.75 (+$1.75)Current $99.42 $106.98 $897.00Change +$0.52 +$0.53 +$8.25

MID.EAST/S.AFRICA 380cst 3.5% 380cst 1% 180 3.5% MGOFujairah MTD 605 N/A 635 975 / 1020 (LS)Durban MTW* N/A N/A 609 1037Dammam MTD (PP) 605 N/A 615 980Jeddah MTD (PP) 690 N/A 725 1070Richards Bay MTW* N/A N/A 619 1047Suez MTD 685-686 N/A 720-721 1069-1070

AMERICAS 380cst 3.5% 380cst 1% 180cst 3.5% MGONew York MTW 604.50 681 659.50 1022.50New Orleans MTW 625 737 658 971.50Houston MTW 582 689.50 652 976Vancouver MTW 597.50 852.50 649.50 1093Panama MTW 620 797.50 681 1053Santos MTD 618 626 639.50 980

HFO to sustain market dominanceResearch by Lloyd’s Register and University

College London’s Energy Institute has explored

the drivers for the energy mix in shipping

in 2030. Their report indicates that, in all

scenarios, heavy fuel oil will remain the main

fuel for deepsea shipping; LNG will develop a

deepsea bunker market share of 11 per cent;

and low sulphur heavy fuel oil and hydrogen

will emerge as alternatives in certain scenarios.

Global Marine Fuel Trends 2030, released in

March by LR, offers insight into the future

fuel demands of the container ship, bulk

carrier/general cargo and tanker sectors, which

represent around 70 per cent of the global

shipping industry’s bunker requirements.

Shipping decision makers will benefit

from a clearer understanding of the three

potential scenarios for marine fuel demand,

defined as: Status Quo; Global Commons;

and Competing Nations.

“I think the report underlines that any

transition from a dependency on HFO will be

an evolutionary process,” said project leader

Dimitris Argyros, the class society’s lead

environmental consultant.

“LNG is forecast to grow from a very low

base to a significant market share by 2030 even

if there is no major retrofit revolution; most of

the LNG take-up will be in newbuildings. But it

is important to note that an 11 per cent share in

2030 is the equivalent in volume of about 20 per

cent of the bunker market today,” he remarked.

This growth, however, does not depend

only on the shipping industry, he suggested.

“What we can say is that the uptake of engine

and alternative propulsion technology and

the emergence of non-fossil fuels can only be

driven by a society’s ability to create a world

with lower greenhouse gas emissions – the

technology is not the barrier.”

The key drivers “will be policy and markets,”

he said. “Shipping can control its own destiny

to some extent but shipowners can only focus

on compliance and profitability. If society wants

lower GHG emissions and cleaner fuel, change in

shipping has to be driven by practical regulation

and market forces so that cleaner, more efficient

ships are more profitable than less efficient ships

with higher GHG emissions.”

• Read the full report at www.lr.org/gmft2030.

IBIA urges compliance with ISO standards as engines developIn a bid to improve bunker quality across the

marine fuel supply chain, the International

Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) has called

on suppliers to adopt the ISO 2010 specifications

for bunkers. It is estimated that only a quarter

of bunker suppliers are currently delivering in

accordance with those specifications.

“ECO vessels are now entering the market

equipped with engines which are more

sensitive than ever before,” IBIA chairman Jens

Maul Jorgensen commented recently.

“The ISO specs were agreed four years ago

because there was a real need for them. Yet

only 25 per cent of suppliers are supplying in

accordance with these specs. Indeed, tested

samples found to be off-spec reached an all-time

high in 2013, with one-quarter not reaching the

required standards. Something is wrong.”

IBIA is addressing the problem and has

submitted a paper to IMO calling for clarity and

transparency in the marine fuel supply chain. It

has recommended:

• a process of data collection from

bunker suppliers;

• a process for authorities and inspectors to

report non-compliance with Annex VI;

• regulations to minimise the risk of

non-compliant fuels arising from fuel

blending activity;

• enforcement procedures to ensure that

ship operators can have a greater degree of

confidence in their suppliers;

• the collection of data from fuel suppliers, fuel

testing companies and shipping companies to

identify the root cause of fuel quality problems.

IBIA chief executive Peter Hall added that his

organisation will be engaging with shipowners

directly at a series of forums around the world in

conjunction with other shipping bodies. Practical

advice on fuel quality standards and problem

avoidance will be disseminated. MP


Jens Maul Jorgensen (IBIA): New engines are more sensitive (credit: IBIA)


M ore than a century and a half ago,

the steam ship Great Britain was a

pioneering dual-fuelled ship, with both

wind and coal driving it forward. When it was

launched in 1843 it was the largest ship afloat

and, for the first time, combined an iron hull and

a screw propeller to become the first iron steamer

to cross the Atlantic.

But it was competing against ships that were

either sail or steam, yet it was neither the best

sailing vessel nor the best steam ship. In 1852

and under new ownership it was given a new

engine and a more efficient propeller to operate

to Australia, but it relied more on sail than steam

to save money. Finally, in 1882, the engine was

removed to make it competitive and it became a

pure sailing cargo ship – ironically, to carry coal.

That was an early demonstration that fuel

flexibility comes at a price. While many today

have expressed the view that dual-fuel is the only

answer in today’s world, there are both benefits

and drawbacks. On the plus side, if your ship can

carry both liquid fuel and gas fuel then you have

no concerns about fuel availability if there is poor

gas supply infrastructure.

Where a ship’s area of operation is variable and

uncertain, operators may experience the marine

equivalent of the ‘range anxiety’ experienced by

drivers of electric cars and worry about whether

they will be able to refuel en-route; in these instances,

the ability to revert to liquid fuel is comforting.

However, compared to a single fuel engine,

there will be an efficiency penalty for the low

pressure dual-fuel engine while running on

gas and a considerable efficiency penalty when

running on liquid, since dual-fuel engines run

with a BMEP of 19-21 bar and conventional diesels

run at 25-28 bar. Add to this the space and weight

penalty from including two sets of fuel tanks with

the consequent loss of earning capacity, plus the

significantly higher initial cost of the engine and

its gas fuel system, and it is difficult to see how the

ship can be competitive over its lifespan.

Meanwhile, the LNG supply chain is developing,

although some areas are rather better covered than

others; availability and demand will tend to develop

alongside one another. Where routes are fixed –

ferry services, for instance – or where the area of

operations is constrained, such as for coastguards

and coastal trades, then an infrastructure for

security of fuel supply can be implemented and

pure-gas fuelled ships are then highly attractive.

From a technical point of view, by the end of

2013 the marine industry had largely removed, or

developed solutions for, any obstacles that stood in

the way of gas becoming the dominant marine fuel

within a generation. Gas-engines, both two- and

four-stroke, are being developed and released at

an increasing pace by all the major manufacturers.

Gas-fuelled ship designs and their accompanying

safety rules are also being developed and built in

increasing numbers.

However, although liquid fuel engines are now

available to meet the stringent emission targets

of IMO Tier III and EPA Tier 4 without off-engine

after-treatment, they cannot take advantage of

lower fuel costs of gas. Gas fuelled engines are

available in Otto-cycle (spark-ignited single-gas

and low-pressure dual-fuel) and diesel-cycle

(high-pressure dual fuel) and both cycles apply to

both two- and four-stroke engines. Which engine

technology is right for your ships depends upon

their duty and area of operations.

During the 2000s, increasingly tight emissions

regulations for NOx, and for particulates challenged

engine designers to improve liquid combustion

technology. Initially, combustion chamber shape,

improved turbochargers and higher-pressure

injectors (to reduce particulates and improve

combustion) were adopted and then the Miller-

Cycle was introduced (to reduce combustion

temperature thus NOx). Most recently, two-stage

turbocharging has become available to improve

Miller-Cycle engine power and efficiency.

Marine Propulsion has regularly covered such

developments as exhaust gas recirculation, which

some enginebuilders are using to meet NOx

limits from liquid fuel without off-engine after-

treatment. But others seem reluctant to follow,

instead focusing their efforts on gas-fuelled

engines that will meet the limits while, most

importantly, taking advantage of very low gas fuel

prices in most parts of the world.

So the growing expectation in the marine

industry and within the major engine manufacturers

is that gas LNG will increasingly and rapidly become

a significant fuel throughout the world and for

many ship types. The battle is now beginning as

to which technology will win: Otto- or diesel-cycle.

Dual-fuel engines do not have a long-term

role in this scenario. Like Great Britain, ships that

fit them will be overtaken by their rivals as gas

becomes the new steam. MP

*David Bricknell is the owner and principal of

Brycheins, an independent design and engineering

consultancy. He has over 40 years’ experience and

was formerly vice president for systems, product

strategy and business development for Rolls-Royce

powertalk

Dual-fuel has no long-term futureDual-fuel technology is establishing a role in current propulsion concepts but a lesson from the past offers a warning for the future, says David Bricknell*

This general comparison illustrates how dual fuel options, whether high pressure or low pressure, cannot match pure gas-fuelled systems at most load levels (credit: Brycheins)

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LP DF on liquid

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Marine Propulsion & Auxiliary Machinery April 2014

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